


Tired Eyes and Aching Hearts

by SummonerStrife



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: Action, Action & Romance, Advent Children Spoilers, Adventure & Romance, Angst, Angst and Humor, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Awkward Romance, Comfort, Comfort Sex, Comfort/Angst, Deepground, Dirge of Cerberus Spoilers, Domestic Fluff, Drama & Romance, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Romance, F/M, Family, Family Bonding, Family Drama, Family Dynamics, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Heavy Angst, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, My First Work in This Fandom, Plot, Plot Devices, Plothole Fill, Post Advent Children, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Slow Romance, Some Humor, Team as Family, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-27
Updated: 2018-07-08
Packaged: 2018-11-19 17:08:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 116,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11317893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SummonerStrife/pseuds/SummonerStrife
Summary: His nightmares are torture. Her memories are painful. Somewhere beneath that tired façade, the truth lies in waiting. With a dangerous group of SOLDIERs targeting their makeshift family, Cloud and Tifa will have to find strength in each other in order to protect the life they've made together. It just might take the danger of losing each other to finally break those walls down.





	1. Prologue

"Cloud…" Tifa's voice shook as she murmured his name, hardly louder than a whisper. "…Words aren't the only thing that tell people what you're thinking…."

Cloud was silent, his back still turned to her, hiding the crease forming between the furrow of his brows as surprise and confusion assaulted him. The culmination of strange feelings and unfamiliar emotions he had experienced throughout the past few months was building up to a climax, and he felt like he might burst open - from his head or his chest, he wasn't sure. With a moment of tightly closed eyes, still images of Tifa raced through Cloud's mind - images of her standing in the bar, smiling brightly with twinkling eyes. Images of her fighting off infantrymen, a scowl on her face that could scare the strongest of men. Images of her touching his arm gently and asking if he was alright, concern marring her pretty features. Images of her that Cloud wasn't even sure were real, of her calling out to him in the Lifestream… His body buzzed with electricity as he racked his brain for some sort of response.

_What does she mean? If she doesn't want to hear what I'm trying to say, then what does she want?_

Slowly, he turned back to look at her, his gaze finding hers as he instantly felt a wave of emotion crash through him. His face was set in stone as he took a step towards her, mentally willing the tears that had begun streaming down Tifa's cheeks to stop falling.

_Tifa… Stop crying… Please stop crying…_

He didn't know what to do, but found his body moving on its own accord, taking him closer to her with slow, deliberate steps. His brain was jumbled and his body was humming, and before he could process his own actions, he found himself reaching out to her, placing a calloused hand on her cheek, and thumbing away a tear that fell from her ruby-colored eye.

"Tifa…"

Their eyes locked on each other's, and Tifa's trembling lips and flushed cheeks begged for Cloud to do _something_. Something, something... but what? He found himself frozen in her gaze, and slowly, hesitantly, Tifa closed the gap between them, and time came to a standstill.

At first, Cloud didn't react. His body was frozen and his mind went blank. But then, feeling seeped back into him as he felt a warmth radiating from his core, out to his fingertips.

_Tifa… Tifa is… Kissing… Tifa…_

In that moment, something came over Cloud, something he had never felt before. He didn't need his mind now, or his words; he didn't need his thoughts. He just needed this feeling, this feeling of kissing her, of cupping his hand on her feminine cheek, of responding to her lips as they softly played at his own.

Everything shut down completely as his body took over any sort of rational thought process he may have had left. His hand snaked its way into her hair as his other arm wrapped tightly around her waist, pulling her body flush against his own as he passionately kissed her back. She returned the kiss with equal fervor, wrapping her arms around him tightly and even daring to jump and wrap her legs around his waist, breaking the kiss for only a moment. Quickly, Cloud moved an arm down to hold onto her thigh, keeping his other hand tangled in her flowing hair. It was almost ridiculous, the way they began desperately pawing at each other. Tifa, with her legs still tightly wrapped around Cloud's waist, was trying to push up as much of his shirt as she could, despite several pieces of armor getting in the way. Cloud didn't know what was happening anymore; he wasn't thinking, he was just reacting, and he decided that Tifa needed to have her shirt pushed up as well if his was going to be in the same condition. Hazy minds filled with fear and sorrow faded away as a new feeling took over. Somehow, without ever breaking contact, Cloud fell onto his knees and hovered over Tifa, kissing her until she was pinned under him with her back lying flat on the grass.

His lips finally released Tifa's as he propped himself up to drink in the sight of the beautiful woman. He wanted to see her expression, needed to see it, more than anything else in the world. He wanted to etch every detail of her face into his mind. The way her lips were plump and red now, the way her cheeks were flushed rouge, the way she heaved her chest breathily and looked up at him with misty eyes full of desire. Those deep, wine-colored eyes that spoke volumes when Tifa's words failed her, those eyes that could hold a man captive with their loving gaze. Those eyes were held by the most beautiful face of the most beautiful woman in the world; the face of the woman who had stayed by him through everything, through every battle, even through a time when Cloud didn't know who he was anymore. The face of the woman who helped him find himself, and whom he had loved for many years. The face of-

… _Aerith?_

Aerith was lying there in Tifa's place, with tears welled up in the emerald pools of her eyes. She looked up at Cloud meekly, her lips quivering. Her skin was paler than normal, almost so much that she looked ill. The primal, needy feelings that had taken over Cloud's fragile mind were swiftly replaced with utter confusion as he tried to make sense of what was happening.

_Aerith? No… No, this isn't right. Tifa. Tifa is supposed to be here._

Cloud scrambled to get up, but found he was somehow already standing. The backdrop of the watercolored sunset faded away along with the hum of the Highwind's engine. In its wake, a blackness surrounded him, and there kneeled Aerith, with her hands clasped in prayer. An incredible fear washed over Cloud as the familiarity of the situation wiped away the pleasant feelings he had been experiencing only moments ago. He tried yelling to Aerith and moved to lunge forward, for he knew what was coming, but his lips uttered no sound and his body stood frozen. Aerith didn't move from her position, her face contorted in concentration, as Cloud desperately pleaded for his body to react.

With one smooth motion, a cloaked figure came soaring down from the sky, its silver blade piercing Aerith's body cleanly. Her body slumped forward as blood rushed from her mortal wound, and finally, Cloud was able to run forward to catch her as Sephiroth jumped away and escaped. He began to cry, shouting Aerith's name, willing her to look up at him and return to consciousness. But as he pulled her up and looked into her lifeless eyes, bright emerald was replaced with sparkling ruby. Tifa lay lifeless in his arms and Cloud lost all rational thought. He wailed her name as he clutched her limp body, blood still surging from her form. White noise replaced the sound of Cloud's voice as he laid Tifa's body down and began thrashing his sword about uselessly. The only word he could hear was 'Sephiroth' as he demanded the man to come back and show himself.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in the distance, the shadow of a human form cloaked in darkness. Cloud charged at the figure, ready to murder Sephiroth once and for all, but stopped dead in his tracks when the form became visible. Denzel, with Marlene hiding behind him, stood in horror as Cloud held his sword up dangerously. Another figure emerged from the darkness, wrapping her arms around both of the children protectively. Dumbfounded, Cloud looked back to where Tifa's body had lain, and saw that she was no longer there. He tried to calling to her, but no sound came out. The white noise was unbearable, and a searing pain abruptly shot through his head like a white-hot knife boring into his brain. Cloud dropped his sword and clutched at his cranium, dragging his fingers through his hair, willing the stinging and throbbing to stop. Blinded by the intensity of the excruciating pain, his body convulsed and the world dissolved away, leaving only the miserable torment in its wake. It seemed like it would never end, and existence would be solely comprised of the hurt forever, until finally, everything stopped. From complete nothingness emerged quiet, sardonic laughter.

"I could make you kill them, you know."

Cloud's chest heaved wearily as he tried to regain his composure. He was sure he had yelled something in response, but he couldn't hear it. He couldn't hear anything but the voice that was attacking his mind.

"You always were a puppet. What makes you think anything has changed?"

_A… puppet? No… No, that's a lie. That's a lie!_

"You're lying!" Cloud scrambled to his feet and spun around, searching desperately for the man, before another, different voice filled his head.

"Cloud…finish Sephiroth off…"

_...Zack?_

Cloud's head was swimming, his body turning frantically, looking for both the man he most hated, and the man he loved the most. Another blinding pain shot through his head, rendering him incapable of doing anything as he disgracefully fell back to his knees.

"…Pathetic."

Slowly, Cloud pulled himself to his feet once more, continuing the shameful dance of falling and climbing back up, but his body was moving forward of its own accord now. He felt his arms rise powerfully, poising the heavy Buster Sword high above his head, ready to come slicing down on Denzel and Marlene. Cloud thought he might have yelled 'no', but he still couldn't hear anything but Sephiroth's tortuous laughter, as Zack's voice had left him completely. He fought back, willing himself to stop moving forward, but his body kept going. Denzel and Marlene stood terrified and Tifa held her silent, unwavering position as Cloud's sword prepared to strike. He knew he was yelling a million things, but no words came out. He had to stop. He had to. With the last ounce of his strength and willpower, he brought the Buster Sword down, cleanly slicing into his own body.

**•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

Cloud's eyes flew open and he sat up instinctually from his lying position on the sweat-drenched sheets. His body was tense, ready for battle, and it took a few moments of stiff and heavy breathing to slowly piece back the reality of his current situation.

_Another dream?_

It had been almost two months since he had defeated Sephiroth and his remnants, and nearly every night since then, the same nightmare had haunted his already uneasy sleep. Sometimes, little details would change, but it would always end the same way. Purposefully taking in several deep breaths, he tried to clear the images out of his mind.

_I'm so tired of this…_

Cloud's room was dark and quiet, but he could see everything with his Mako-enhaced eyes. He heard muffled shuffling in the room down the hall, and he was sure it wasn't coming from Denzel or Marlene.

_She's awake again too…_

As he suspected, quiet footsteps made their way towards his room, and a soft knock played at his door a few moments later.

"Come in, Tifa."

She would have come in anyway, even without his invitation. She already knew he was awake as well. The door cracked open slowly as Tifa quietly padded inside his room.

"You awake again, Cloud?" she whispered.

He nodded silently in response. She made her way over to his bed and gently settled herself on the edge of it.

"Did you have another bad dream?"

Cloud slowly leaned back, propping himself against the wall. His head was pounding.

"…Yeah."

Tifa looked down at her lap, fiddling with the Fenrir ring that Cloud had given her some time ago; she never took it off. "I had a bad dream again too…" She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and turned to meet his eyes, smiling gently. "You wanna talk about it?"

Cloud kept his eyes averted from hers. It was always the same dream, and as always, he didn't want to talk about it. He just wanted to erase it from his mind completely and forget it ever happened, even though he knew it would inevitably happen again the very next night.

"No, I'm fine. I'm just gonna try to fall back asleep before it's time to get up."

Tifa was still smiling at him gently, but there was another expression pulling at her features as well.

"Cloud… I'm worried about you."

He sighed quietly in return to her statement. She was _always_ worried about him, and he was fed up with being the source of her worry. Tifa worried about everyone – the kids, Barrett, her bar patrons, Yuffie, Cid, Nanaki, Reeve, and even Vincent. She even worried about the Turks from time to time, but she worried about Cloud the most. It was obvious to him now, though it hadn't been in the past. He could tell by the barely-there, pained expression that would contort her face at times, and he could notice the nervous little habits she had formed. Was there anything he could do to make her relax? He would always say the same comforting things, like 'I'm fine' or 'Don't worry about me', but they never seemed to help. It was like Tifa could see right through him.

"Tifa, you know you don't have to worry about me. I'm fine. It was just a bad dream. Everyone has them."

Tifa didn't look convinced, but she still held the same gentle smile. She found Cloud's eyes and held his gaze for a moment, maybe a moment too long, because she flushed slightly and awkwardly looked away.

"It was a little different this time, Cloud… You were… Muttering."

Cloud's eyebrows raised slightly in surprise. Muttering? Muttering _what_ , exactly?

"What are you talking about, Tifa?" Cloud had almost gotten used to waking up with tense muscles that were soaked in sweat, but he didn't think he had muttered during his sleep before… At least… Not since back then…

"Well… I was already awake, and I heard talking, so I checked on the kids and made sure they were asleep, and then I realized it was coming from your room… And you were kind of loud, so I could hear what you were saying…" She suddenly stopped talking and smiled brightly, as if nothing were wrong. "D-Don't worry, you didn't wake the kids or anything. It's really no big deal."

Cloud rubbed his eyes tiredly, looking back at Tifa and noticing that her fake smile was slowly turning into a frown.

"What did I say, Tifa?"

She looked down at her lap, resuming her nervous habit of twisting her ring.

"Um…" She sighed. "First you were saying you were going to kill someone, and you were cussing a lot. You said you were going to murder them, and you were going to… rip their insides out." She shook her head. "Then you just kept saying 'no', and you said, 'I can't kill them, I can't kill them', and that's when I noticed you started tossing and turning a lot, because the bed kept squeaking, and then you said..." She flinched, before looking back up to Cloud. "You said, 'I'll kill myself before I hurt my family'. You stopped after that, so I guess that was when you woke up…"

Cloud stared at her, dumbfounded, as visions from the nightmare flashed through his mind. He had been trying for the past two months to keep it to himself, always brushing Tifa off and asserting that he was fine, but now she knew. Or, at least, she knew part of it. He didn't know which was worse, the fact that she knew he had dreamt about trying to kill her and the children, and himself as well, or the idea of her discovering that his nightmare always began with the pleasant memory from that night under the Highwind. Cloud regained his composure and sat up straight, looking at Tifa with serious eyes.

"Tifa, no matter what dreams I have, I promise you that I would never hurt you or Marlene and Denzel." Cloud's eyes shone brightly with the severity of his statement, remnants of the Mako that tainted him surging throughout his irises. Tifa smiled gently in return.

"I know that, Cloud. Don't be silly… I'm just worried about you." Her pretty lips drooped downward again. "Everything that happened… That's all in the past now. You have to move on and live in the present. You can't let anything hold you back anymore."

Cloud averted his gaze again. "I'm trying," he uttered softly.

Tifa reached out and softly patted him on the arm, still smiling gently. "I know you are. Just… don't go off on your own again. You don't have to deal with your problems by yourself anymore." Tifa's tender expression revealed how honestly she meant those words.

"I know... I have you now, Teef. And the kids." Cloud gave her a wan smile. He _did_ have her... sort of. "Try and get some sleep, ok?"

Tifa stood up slowly, looking down and studying Cloud's expression carefully. "Only if you do the same."

"Of course."

"Alright…" Tifa made her way over to the door quietly, pausing before opening it. "See you in the morning."

"'Night, Teef."

"Goodnight, Cloud."

She closed the door and crept back to her room, stopping by Marlene and Denzel's room to undoubtedly poke her head in and check on them again. Cloud was left to toss and turn for a while, trying his damndest to erase the nightmare from his head. The images were clear enough, but Sephiroth's voice rang through his mind like a wailing siren. It was so loud, just like he was in his head again… Every night, Cloud tried to convince himself that the nightmares were just that – nightmares. But he couldn't help but take heed to the uneasy feeling that had crawled it's way into his stomach and settled there ever since he had fought Sephiroth for the _second_ time. You couldn't kill a man twice, and Cloud couldn't deny the strong similarities between the nightmares and what had actually happened to him just two years ago. He finally managed to quell his racing thoughts after an hour or so by ruminating over the beginning of his dream, rather than the end. At least that part was pleasant.


	2. Routine

It was an unusually bright and sunny day in Edge, and Tifa was shuffling about the kitchen area, following her normal routine: wake up at 6:00 am sharp, promptly shower and get dressed, and head downstairs to make breakfast for herself, Cloud, and the kids. It was a comfortable routine, albeit a little boring, but Tifa was thankful for the monotony that had slowly crept into her life. Moreover, she was thankful for constantly being kept _busy_. Yes, the daily tasks had become quite ordinary, consisting of running the bar, cleaning up, cooking, and taking care of the kids, but Tifa always had something to _do_. It kept her tired, and tired was a good thing. Tired kept her from thinking too much.

Two months had passed since Geostigma had been cured and Sephiroth had been defeated for good. Everything was finally beginning to settle down. People were picking up the pieces of their lives, grieving, and eventually, moving on. Homes were rebuilt, trade began to boom, and Cloud and Tifa had somehow settled into their comfortable little existence. Over the past two years, they had switched from fighting for their lives, and the life of the planet itself, to running a bar, delivering packages, and caring for two young children. It was all so… surreal. After all that had happened, this is what their lives were like now.

But despite the newfound comfort that had settled into her life, Tifa had found herself frequently haunted with the memories of their journey, still all-too fresh in her mind. In her quiet moments of reflection at night, lying alone in her room or waiting up for Cloud to return, she couldn't stop her mind from reeling. The moment she closed her eyes for even a second, painful images flashed through her mind. Fiery explosions from destroyed Mako reactors. Her comrades lying helplessly on the ground. Aerith's confused and pained expression as Sephiroth's sword took her life, blood pooling around her body. Floating endlessly through the Lifestream with Cloud. Fighting Sephiroth alongside him, a thousand emotions fogging her mind. And that night under the Highwind…

She shook her head, scrambling the eggs she was preparing a little too aggressively. Tifa was used to these sorts of feelings, had been used to them for over two years now, but everything had somehow gotten paradoxically both better and worse at the same time over the past two months. Tifa struggled with her guilt now more than she ever had, it seemed. Hundreds, maybe thousands of innocent people had died because of her actions, and she had tried her damndest to convince herself that it was all for the good of the planet. It wasn't true, though; everything that had happened, every bad thing she had done, was all for nothing but petty revenge against Sephiroth. Over time, her guilt grew stronger, and plagued her mind like a disease.

She thought of her family often, of Aerith, and of Cloud, remorse tainting each pretty picture she had created of them in her mind. She didn't deserve anything that she had now – Denzel, for instance. Though she considered herself Denzel's "mother" now, it was her fault that he had become an orphan in the first place. She had grown to love the child, and yet, guilt tugged at her emotions every time she looked at him. She didn't deserve the home she had now, either. Sure, she may have helped build it out of scrap with her own two hands, but how could she have a warm, comfortable home to live in when she had destroyed so many other people's homes? Every day, people filtered in and out of the bar, bringing with them little reminders of her tainted past. Homeless people, people who traded potions or phoenix downs for a glass of wine because they couldn't scrounge up the gil to pay, always caused Tifa to wonder if it was _her_ fault that they had turned out that way. For all of the sins she had committed, she didn't deserve anything that she had now. She didn't deserve her new life and she didn't deserve her new family. Most importantly, she didn't deserve Cloud.

She worried about him more than anyone else. He had suffered through more traumatic experiences than anyone else she knew, and living with him was a rollercoaster of emotions. She had hoped desperately that he would be okay once he was cured of the Stigma, but as soon as he seemed like he was ready to move on from his past, the nightmares began. Tifa couldn't sleep at night, knowing that he would inevitably be unable to sleep himself. She hadn't been sure what he was dreaming about before, though she had had an idea. Last night proved it: Cloud was still unwell, and he was still stuck in the past. Though he seemed a little softer, a little less sad and standoffish, Tifa could tell that he was still troubled. Even knowing that he was constantly facing some sort of inner turmoil, she selfishly wished that things would go back to the way they were before he had contracted the Stigma. She missed the silly little conversations that they had shared, and though they were slowly having those moments again, it was much less often.

Tifa had to scold herself constantly, every time Cloud would smile at her or when their arms would accidentally brush together. Some tiny part of her had hope, but she felt so wrong for having it. She knew that Cloud had developed some sort of feelings for her in the past, but that was so long ago, long before she found him muttering to himself in Midgar and convinced him to join AVALANCHE. She couldn't help but remember the way he would look at Aerith while they made their journey together, and had guiltily wished he would look the same way at her. Something about that night under the Highwind was bittersweet. She knew it was wrong, and she felt like she had abused Cloud and had taken advantage of his fragile emotional state. So what if her emotions were fragile, too? He had probably loved Aerith, far more than the platonic love Tifa had felt towards her. Hell, she almost felt like Aerith had been her rival as they both vied for Cloud's affection, and she felt guilty for that as well.

She really didn't know what anything meant anymore. To anyone else, Cloud and her were a couple. They lived together, they worked together, and they had somehow stumbled into parenthood together. But at the end of the night, they each went to their separate rooms and slept in their own separate beds, never discussing any sort of feelings that may have been between them. Tifa frequently questioned what that night under the Highwind really meant to Cloud. What guy _wouldn't_ have slept with her, if they thought they were going to die the very next day?

She remembered asking Cloud one night, when she was sure he had fallen asleep, if he loved her. His eyes had flown open and he looked at her like she had slapped him in the face. She had quickly asked him if he loved Marlene, instead, trying to cover up her embarrassing question. That was all the answer she needed, though. She knew he wasn't good with words; he didn't have to be. He could have kissed her. He could have smiled or nodded his head "yes". He could have just reached out and reassuringly touched her hand. But no, she had gotten nothing. Nothing but a dubious expression and dancing around the question.

Regardless, things were okay, as long as Tifa kept herself busy. Barrett had been right when he told her that she needed to keep herself occupied with work or she'd think too much and wouldn't be able to do anything at all. She always felt tired, but she welcomed the feeling. It was better than _not_ being tired, because this way, she could keep her thoughts under control a little easier. Pushing the sad thoughts and the unanswered questions to the back of her mind had become an integral part of her new routine. It was as important as brewing the beer, or cooking the night's meal. It was as important as breathing.

_'_ _Dilly-dally, shilly-shally.' Right?_

Right. She shook herself from her worries as best she could, turning her attention to the sausages frying in the other pan. Despite all of her troubled thoughts, she knew that worrying was unnecessary, especially when she lived such a happy and comfortable existence now. She was well fed, she had a warm bed at night, and she no longer had to worry about anyone being hellbent on destroying the world. Maybe she really _didn't_ deserve it, but she had come to enjoy this way of life, free of the radical attacks on a corrupt corporation, free of fighting off monsters and men alike. It was definitely better this way. Still, she could never quite stop the sinking feeling she got in her chest whenever she saw Cloud's tired, troubled eyes. She could never stop the guilt that gnawed at her daily, and she could never stop the fact that she wished things had turned out differently. If only they could have saved everyone… If only they had been a little more careful… If only her and Cloud…

"Good morning, Tifa!"

Tifa's thoughts were interrupted by a chipper little girl bounding down the stairs, a slightly older boy in tow behind her.

"Good morning Marlene, Denzel…Cloud." Tifa smiled warmly at the three of them. Both of the children looked well, but Cloud was obviously only half-awake and his hair was an absolute mess, despite the fact that he was dressed and looked ready to go. If she weren't so worried about him, she would have chuckled at his appearance. The nightmares had caused lots of small changes in Cloud's behavior over the past two months. Instead of waking up immediately, full of energy and raring to go, he got up slowly, groggily. Like a tired old man.

"You sleep ok?"

Cloud moaned quietly and stretched his arms out behind his back, rolling his shoulders and neck. "Slept 'bout as well as I could. Breakfast smells good." He slowly made his way over to their usual table in the dining area that the kids were already sitting at. Marlene, ever the morning person, began chatting away while Tifa finished up breakfast.

"So, guess what Cloud? I didn't get to tell you last night, but Papa called and said he's gonna come visit soon!"

This seemed to capture Cloud's attention, for Tifa noticed that his head had snapped up to look at Marlene while she was preparing everyone's plates.

"Really? That's… Really good news, isn't it?" His voice sounded uneasy, but Tifa could tell that he was trying to sound excited for Marlene's sake.

"Yep! It's not gonna be for a while though, he said it might even take him another month to get here. He's still busy with Mr. Cid, but he said as soon as they get finished they're gonna bring their airship here and see us!"

Tifa brought over the first two plates, setting them down gently in front of Marlene and Denzel. Cloud was eyeing her cautiously.

"Tifa, you didn't say anything about this last night…"

Tifa bit her lip; Cloud had gotten home late again last night, so the only chance she would have gotten to tell him would have been after he had woken up from his dream. Or, she guessed she could have called him while he was on his way home. She didn't want to worry him about it, though, and she knew he wouldn't exactly be enthusiastic to hear the news. She turned around to grab the remaining two plates of food, calling over her shoulder, "I was going to tell you this morning, but it seems that Marlene beat me to it."

Marlene hungrily dug into her pile of scrambled eggs, and said with a mouthful of food, "It's gonna be fun, Cloud! Papa said he'll take us for a ride on the airship!"

"Marlene, don't talk with food in your mouth," muttered Cloud pointedly.

"Sorry." She swallowed and continued, "He said he wants to meet Denzel too! And him and Mr. Cid are both excited to see you guys!"

Tifa came back with her and Cloud's plates, setting them down gently and returning to the kitchen to grab some orange juice. Cloud picked at his eggs thoughtfully, keeping silent."We're both excited to see them too, Marlene," Tifa said cheerily as she returned and settled into her chair, pouring juice for everyone.

Marlene quieted down for a second, looking like she was deep in thought, before suggesting, "Hey, Tifa, why don't we have a party?"

Tifa looked at the little girl with surprise. "A party?"

"Yeah! A big party!" Marlene enthused, holding her arms out to emphasize her point. "We could invite all of your and Cloud's friends, so that they could see Papa and Mr. Cid too! And Denzel could meet everyone! It'll be fun, right Denzel?" She elbowed the boy's side, prompting him for a response, which was simply, "Uh… Sure."

Tifa thought for a moment too, looking at Cloud curiously. His face was set in stone, the same way it always was when Cloud was trying to hide his emotions. Tifa could see right through him, though. She knew that the word "party" wasn't even in the man's vocabulary, and he'd be incredibly uncomfortable with the idea. But with how on edge he was lately, she wondered if a party might be just the right thing for him. Sure, she'd have to likely force him into accepting the idea, but maybe a reunion with his old friends would perk him up. It had to be better than letting him wallow in his problems again. She refused to let him get back to that point.

_An AVALANCHE reunion…_

She toyed with the idea, mulling over the thought of Cloud talking and laughing with everyone. She decided that it was a scene that she definitely wanted to see, even if it wasn't entirely likely to play out all that well. She'd make it work, somehow.

"Hmmm… You know Marlene, I think a party sounds fun", Tifa mused, smiling at the child. "…But Cloud and I will have to talk about it first…" She looked over to the swordsman, who was still silently eating his breakfast, not bothering to look up at her. Tifa returned her attention to Marlene. "There would be lots of planning involved… And I'd need to cook enough food to feed everyone, because you can't have a party without lots of good food… Anyway, Cloud and I will think about it," she stated with some finality.

Marlene clapped her hands ecstatically. "Yay! This is gonna be so much fun! It'll be just like old times, only Cloud won't be a big meanie this time!"

Cloud paused from sipping his orange juice, and for a split second, a hurt expression ghosted across his features before he composed himself. "When was I a big meanie?" he asked, trying to make his tone come off as playful.

"At the old 7th Heaven! Everyone was always having lots of fun, except for you!" She put her tiny hands on her hips and looked at him scornfully.

Tifa gave Marlene a scolding look in return. She was surprised that Marlene could even remember those times so well – she was only four years old then – but apparently she did. She was wrong, too. It wouldn't really be like the old times… Not at all… They would be missing so many people, and so many new faces have come into their lives since then… She looked at Marlene with gentle, but serious eyes.

"Marlene, things were different back then… And you shouldn't say mean things like that to Cloud."

Surprisingly, Cloud chuckled softly at her statement. "No, it's alright, Tifa. She's right. I _was_ a 'big meanie' back then."

Marlene nodded sagely in agreement. "It's ok now, though. Cloud is nice now, so he'll have lots of fun!"

Cloud didn't say anything else, so Tifa smiled warmly at Marlene and told her and Denzel to go upstairs and get ready for school. She cleared some of the dishes off the table quietly, taking them into the kitchen and starting the water to wash them up. To her surprise, Cloud came in a second later, carrying the rest of the dishes with him.

"Oh, thank you, Cloud."

"No problem. Thought I'd help clean up before I head out."

She smiled at him gently. Lately, he'd been surprising her. Catching her off guard. One moment, he'd be quiet, forlorn, and brooding, then the next moment he would try to smile, try to laugh, or try to be helpful. Even his little chuckle while sitting at the breakfast table was out of place. Tifa welcomed the idea of a chuckling Cloud, but she could tell that it was forced, which worried her even more. If nothing else, though, she could see that he was trying, which was all she had wanted for the past two years. Well… for the most part, at least.

The two of them worked in comfortable silence for a moment. Tifa knew that Cloud would need to be leaving soon, but he was waiting for the kids to leave first. She smiled softly to herself as she washed a plate; it was sweet. He was even trying harder with the kids. Used to, he would just leave at the crack of dawn, and he wouldn't come home until late at night. But ever since the Stigma had been cured, he'd actually stayed to eat breakfast almost every morning. He still came home late almost every night, but she guessed that couldn't be helped. Regardless, it seemed that Cloud really _wanted_ to spend time with Marlene and Denzel. He was still a little awkward with them, though considerably less so when it was just him and Denzel, but he was still _trying_. Tifa wondered idly if he would try for his friends' sake, too? …For his _own_ sake?

"Cloud… About Barrett and Cid…"

"Don't worry about it," he stated flatly.

"But…" She scrubbed a particularly stubborn pan aggressively. "I could tell that you were upset…"

Cloud stopped drying the glass he was holding and leaned against the counter, looking at Tifa. "I'm not upset, I'm just… surprised. I didn't expect to hear that kind of news first thing in the morning."

Tifa kept scrubbing her pan, not looking up at Cloud. "So… you're ok with it, then?"

Cloud blinked, resuming his work with the dishrag. "I'm as ok with it as I'll ever be."

It was Tifa's turn to stop washing and look at Cloud pointedly. "What about a party, Cloud? An AVALANCHE reunion? I… I think it's a nice idea."

He didn't say anything back, and just kept drying the dishes.

"It might be fun, Cloud. It'll be great for the kids… And we could all see each other again, in a normal setting. We could eat and drink and talk…"

The swordsman was still silent, moving mechanically as he worked.

"They're your _friends_ Cloud," Tifa sighed. "Don't you want to see them again?"

They were both quiet for a moment, until Cloud murmured, "…I'm just nervous, I guess."

Tifa felt a little bit of empathy for the man, but that wasn't going to stop her determination to make this happen. Hell, she was a little nervous herself. Other than the short little rendezvous they had all had two months ago, fighting Bahamut SIN, they hadn't really seen each other in years. Most of them were busy doing their own things – Reeve was constantly kept busy running the WRO, and Vincent had disappeared like a shadow in the night. Nanaki had returned to his home village to sort things out there, and Yuffie had done the same in Wutai, though she had called to tell Tifa that she was working with the WRO now, too. She wasn't even really sure what Cid was doing, or for that matter, why Barrett was suddenly with him on his airship now. Barrett had left soon after he helped Cloud and her build the new 7th Heaven over a year ago, stating that he needed to 'find' himself. Tifa wasn't even sure if he had, yet, so if he wanted to come visit, then it must be pretty important. He probably just missed Marlene. Either way, Barrett and Cid were coming no matter what, so she figured she might as well throw this party for everyone. Cloud may not want it, but Tifa was sure that he needed it. They didn't hang out with anyone else, and those people were the closest friends they would probably ever have. Cloud needed to see that other people cared about him… People that were still alive and well. She was sure of it… Besides, could a little fun really hurt him?

Tifa reached out and gently touched Cloud's arm. "I'm a little nervous about the idea, too", she stated. "But I think it'll be really fun."

Cloud's eyes found hers and his expression softened. "…Alright."

Tifa's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Really?"

_That was easy._

Cloud simply nodded in response. He didn't have time to say anything else before Marlene came running back down the stairs as Denzel followed her slowly.

"Me and Denzel are leaving for school now, Tifa!" she called.

"Alright, you two be careful", Tifa replied. She looked over to Denzel from her position at the sink. "You're in charge."

Denzel smiled brightly. For the past two months, Tifa had reminded him _very often_ that he was in charge of taking care of himself and Marlene. He gave her a thumbs-up before strolling towards the front door. He paused when he saw Marlene walk over by Cloud, though, and stared unabashedly as she wrapped her tiny arms around Cloud's waist.

"I'm sorry I called you a big meanie, Cloud. I didn't mean it."

Cloud looked very surprised, and just awkwardly allowed himself to be hugged for a moment before bending down to hug the child back.

"It's ok, Marlene. I accept your apology."

The girl released him and beamed, giving Tifa a quick hug too before announcing her departure again and running out the front door of the bar. Denzel stood in the middle of the dining area, unmoving. Cloud strode over to him and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Denzel, you remember what I told you?"

The boy nodded slowly. Cloud smiled gently and ruffled the kid's hair.

"Good. Now go catch her before she gets herself into trouble."

Denzel nodded, pausing as he left the bar to tell both Cloud and Tifa goodbye. Tifa waved and the front door shut, and he was gone. She had a bemused look on her face when Cloud came back into the kitchen area.

"What was _that_ all about?"

Cloud shrugged and reached up to scratch the back of his neck. "I think Denzel gets a little jealous when I give Marlene attention."

It would make sense. Marlene was outspoken and vibrant, and Denzel was quiet and thoughtful. Marlene talked to lots of people when she helped around the bar; Denzel would quietly wait trays and had few conversations with the patrons. Tifa had also noticed the bond that had formed between Denzel and Cloud. She tried not to interrupt them if they were out back working on Cloud's motorcycle, or doing anything else privately, because she noticed how Denzel became more talkative and animated when just the two of them were spending time together. Admittedly, she was a little jealous that the boy wouldn't show the same sort of affection for her, but she remembered that someone had told her before, that's just how boys are.

Tifa couldn't help but smile, and curiosity got the best of her. "What _did_ you tell him, Cloud?"

He shuffled his feet, and it almost seemed like he wasn't going to tell her. He did open his mouth to speak though, his cheeks flushing a pale shade of pink.

"I told him that I care about both of them equally, and just because Marlene gets attention, doesn't mean that he won't get attention too. And… I told him that he was secretly my favorite." He looked ashamed, avoiding Tifa's gaze.

She just shook her head and laughed. "They really are brother and sister now, aren't they?"

Cloud chuckled softly too. "I guess so."

_He's so damn sweet._

Tifa couldn't help herself. Her constant worry for Cloud and her perpetual gnawing guilt faded away into nothingness when they looked at each other, both smiling gently. It was the moments like this that she relished, always finding new little surprises about Cloud that she knew he would never dare to tell anyone else. These were the moments that she clung to.

Tifa leaned back against the counter, studying Cloud's expression, cementing it in her mind. "You really are his hero. You know that?"

He flushed even harder at that, and to Tifa's dismay, his features fell back into their solemn permanence. "I'm no hero, Tifa."

She walked toward him slowly, stopping right before him, forcing him to look at her. "Hey, don't say that. You are a hero. You're Denzel's hero. And you're mine too." She smiled up at him, and a strange expression crossed his face as he blushed again. She wasn't sure if she had ever seen Cloud's face this red.

"I-I need to get going", he stammered.

"…Oh, you're right. It's getting late, isn't it?" Tifa turned back to the small pile of dirty dishes that were left in the sink. She frowned slightly to herself.

"Just don't ever let Marlene know what you said about Denzel", Tifa noted. "And don't let him tell her either. It would probably break her little heart."

"…Of course."

Tifa turned back to look at Cloud, smiling softly again. "And be careful. I know you're tired, so don't have a wreck or… get eaten by a monster, or something."

Tifa was glad to see Cloud smile back at her. "Of course," he repeated. He made his way towards the front of the bar, hesitating at the door. "See ya later, Teef."

"See ya, Cloud."

With that, he was off. Tifa knew that she probably wouldn't see him again until late that night, after she had already fallen asleep. At least they had laughed and smiled together this morning, and it had been easier to convince Cloud into having this party than she thought. Maybe things would finally turn around. Maybe he would smile more often; maybe he would learn how to laugh out loud instead of quietly and shyly. Tifa's heart felt like it was swelling up as she finished tending to the dishes, before falling like a rock again when she thought back to the night before. Muttering, tossing and turning, drenched in sweat and obviously exhausted, Cloud still wasn't well. He was probably just playing at being 'okay' to keep her from worrying herself to death, as if that were possible.

Tifa chided herself silently. How could she _still_ keep taking advantage of him like this, allowing herself to touch him and smile at him and feel hope bubble up when he looked at her with those soft eyes, eyes that seemed to be reserved only for her? There were much more important things going on than her feelings for him.

_Those damn nightmares. Damn everything that has happened. Damn Shinra. Damn Sephiroth… Damn you, Tifa._

There had to be some way she could stop the nightmares… And there had to be a way to stop herself from pushing her feelings on Cloud.

_It's called self-control, and you need to start practicing it a little harder._

Tifa sighed and continued her methodic work around the kitchen. The last thing Cloud needed right now was Tifa confusing him or embarrassing him with her actions. Finding a way to help him was the most important thing right now. She tortured herself by racking her brain for some sort of solution in the hours she spent cooking and preparing the bar to open. By the time she was ready to open, she hadn't come up with anything, and had only managed to put herself in a sour mood.


	3. Uncertainty

Fenrir's heavy tires left dark black marks on the asphalt as Cloud sped along the desolate road towards Mideel. The deliveries for the day were relatively simple, consisting of several light packages, but the stops were spread out. Small villages had been popping up all over Gaia for some time now, but large expanses of land separated each settlement. Cloud could reach each village with ease, but stopping at each new place was beginning to become a tiresome chore.

As a matter of fact, most of Cloud's life had become a chore. The dull tedium of his daily tasks was only interrupted by an onslaught of painful thoughts and small amounts of time spent with Tifa, Marlene, and Denzel. Much of his day was spent out on the road, giving him lots of alone time – something that he had used to cherish, but he now cursed. At one point, maybe, he would have enjoyed the time spent by himself, with nothing but his thoughts to accompany him, the open road stretched out before him, providing the sort of complete and utter solitude that kept him feeling safe. The kind of solitude that kept him running, kept him from talking and spilling his thoughts out where other people could hear them. The endless winding roads used to be his comfort zone. He used to feel like he was in his element - calm, collected, and in control.

Now, however, the lengthy hours spent silently brooding on his trips were hurting Cloud more than they were helping. His thoughts wandered everywhere, from the darkest depths of his psyche to the highest cliffs of his relatively newfound happy memories. His soul felt like it was in turmoil as it searched for answers to unending questions, yearning for happiness but unable to step out of the darkness that had engulfed his life. On days such as this, being left alone with his thoughts was particularly tortuous. The nightmares that Cloud had been experiencing were affecting him far greater than he wanted them to. He constantly felt on edge, paranoid; always ready to attack at the slightest provocation… Always ready to fight the silver-haired man that he had defeated twice before. His mind played tug-of-war with him, the more rational side reasoning that Sephiroth couldn't come back again, while the emotional side vehemently warned him to be prepared, just in case. Besides, he was the only man Cloud had ever met that could become "reborn" through the use of some twisted alien viral cells, like a god… like a demon. If he could do it once, who's to say that it couldn't happen again? And this time, he knew, he would come for what mattered the most. If he ever came back, he would come for his family. He would come for Tifa.

_Tifa…_

Cloud's mind drifted, as always, to thoughts of the perpetually worrying brunette that he had loved since he was a child. She had checked on him nearly every night for the past two months, and she always tried to stay up waiting on him to return home at night, sacrificing her own sleep. A twinge of guilt shot through Cloud as he pictured Tifa curled up uncomfortably on the shabby old couch, passed out after waiting on him for hours. He knew it was his fault that she did it, as it was a relatively new habit, one that she had developed when he began leaving and not returning until the late hours of the night, or sometimes even days at a time, until he finally left for good. He knew that she was scared that he would leave again, even though that was the farthest thing from what he actually wanted. He wished he could spend more time at home more than anything. That's right – _home_. Home was where Marlene smiled up at Cloud and chattered about school and where Denzel asked to help work on his motorcycle and checked his maps with him. Home was where _she_ was.

Tifa... No matter where Cloud's mind wandered, it eventually crawled back to thoughts of Tifa and curled up there like a cat in a sunny windowsill. Most of the things in Cloud's life were dark and depressing, and if they instead happened to offer a glimmer of hope, they were scary. But Tifa... Thoughts of Tifa were warm and inviting, a crackling fireplace inside of a snow-covered cabin. Her sweet smile melted the swordsman's icy heart and touched him at his core in a way that no one else could. For as long as he could remember, Tifa had been all he had ever wanted. How long had he loved her? More than a decade, now? The time slipped past him, blending into the waves of his past. After everything that had happened, after losing his home, his friends, his mind, and his dignity, she was the only constant that remained. The love he felt for her had evolved, changed, and even dampened and became convoluted over the years, but it had always prevailed when everything else eventually died.

Cloud remembered a night, a night that had transpired over a year ago. He was lying in bed, feigning sleep when Tifa quietly came into his room and sat down gently beside him. Her silent, comforting presence had lulled him into a state of drowsy half-sleep when she whispered a question. He swore, deep in the recesses of his mind, that he had clearly heard her ask him if he loved her. She had only asked if he loved Marlene though, right? And even if she had asked him that, it's not like it meant anything. Maybe she was just curious; after all, they lived together like a couple. They reared two children together like a couple. They had even begun to share their finances like a couple. But, in the end, they weren't. They were simply roommates. Companions? Yes. Parents? Sort of. Friends? He sure hoped so. But a couple? No.

Many times before, Cloud had danced around the idea of telling Tifa how he really felt about her, but he could never find the right words. More than that, though, he could never really pluck up the courage to be fully honest with her. Though, deep in his heart, he wanted to tell her every thought and dream and desire that he possessed, he could never fully open himself to her. She had somehow broken down more barriers than any other person ever could, but she could never break through that final wall that shielded his fragile heart. He was a battered and broken soul, and he always had the incessant feeling that he just wasn't good enough for her. Cloud might have been bad at reading people, but he wasn't stupid. He knew that he had already broken Tifa's heart, even though it was never his to break in the first place.

Truthfully, the past two months had been hell for Cloud, but somehow, he found the inner strength to smile and talk normally whenever he was with Tifa or the kids. Out here alone, though, his face was set in a permanent scowl. He couldn't even bring himself to smile at his customers. He was never mean, always cordial, but he was certain that his appearance didn't exactly give off an aura of friendliness. Maybe he was okay with that. He didn't need to make friends; he just needed to make money.

It was bothersome work sometimes, but he guessed it was worth it, because he was able to provide for Tifa and the children without having to resort to dirtier methods of acquiring gil. Cloud hadn't slain a man in two years, that is, until Sephiroth "returned" through his remnants. Everything in Cloud's life seemed to revolve around that twisted man, and he despised him for it. He couldn't even trust himself anymore. Though he tried his best to laugh and smile when he was at home, out here, he could do nothing to stop the nagging feeling that everything just _wasn't_ okay.

The violent buzzing of a cell phone interrupted Cloud's thoughts. He pulled the phone out of his pocket, never once losing speed on Fenrir, and quickly checked the caller ID.

_'_ _Unknown Name'?..._

Unwilling to deal with telemarketers at the moment, Cloud returned the phone to his pocket. As soon as the device was tucked away in his pants, though, the buzzing began again. Silencing the phone once more, his scowl deepened and he continued down the long road he was travelling on. For a third time, the incessant buzzing sent vibrations up his thigh, and he pulled the phone out one final time, flipping it open with one hand and placing it to his ear, completely irritated.

"Who is this?"

An unpleasantly familiar voice barked from the other end of the line.

"No need to answer the phone so rudely, yo."

_God damnit…_

"Who gave you my number?"

"Tifa did. I tried asking Yuffie Kisaragi, but she said you never gave it to her. So I went to the 7th Heaven and I asked Tifa directly."

There was a short pause where Cloud questioned Tifa's sanity for giving his number out to someone like _him._

"…What do you want, Reno?"

"Well, I've got a little proposition for you, Cloud. An assignment, if you will."

"And since when do I work for you?"

"Since I offered up 100,000 gil for this top-secret mission."

Cloud blanched at Reno's comment, nearly falling off of his bike as it skidded to a stop.

_One-hundred… THOUSAND gil?!_

"Cloud? Are you there?"

The swordsman regained his composure, revving up Fenrir and continuing down the lonesome road he was traveling on. "…Not interested."

An audible _tsk_ could be heard on the other line. "Listen up, asshole. You're gonna want to hear this. Meet me at Fat Danny's restaurant in Junon at noon."

"I'm working in Mideel today."

"Great, so it's right on the way. I'll see you there."

With that, the phone went silent, and Cloud fumed, stashing the device back in his pocket angrily. Just who did he think he was? And where did he get off bossing him around like that? Nobody just _told_ him what to do anymore. Cloud worked for himself. Nobody, especially the likes of _him_ , told him what to do. Nobody.

But then again… _one-hundred thousand_ gil. For what, exactly? What could possibly be worth that much? For a while, Cloud just meandered down the winding mountain paths, heading straight for Mideel, but faltering in his decision as the outline of the large city of Junon began to come into view. Thoughts of new parts for Fenrir, games and toys for Marlene and Denzel, and pricy gifts for Tifa danced in his mind. The image of a quiet little house out in the country, just for the four of them, broke his determination to ignore the annoying Turk completely. Sighing heavily, Cloud took a sharp turn, and made his way toward Junon.

**•** **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

It wasn't until Cloud had made his way into the city that he realized that he didn't even know where Fat Danny's was. He pulled over in a cramped parking lot, retrieving an atlas from one of his travel bags. Luckily, he always stayed prepared and kept almost all of his maps on him when he traveled, just in case. After taking several minutes to flip through the pages, he found the area that he was looking for. It wouldn't be too much of a drive through the city, and Cloud was thankful for that.

He found the restaurant a bit early, around 11:35. With nothing but time to kill and a mixture of intrigue and sheer irritation pulsing through his veins, he decided to stretch his legs a bit and take a walk around the block, securing his packages and sword before departing. He was in a nicer part of the city, surrounded by buildings that were relatively well-kept and free of graffiti, despite being a bit old. People milled about busily, moving to and fro down the narrow streets and thin sidewalks, presumably searching for somewhere to eat on their lunch breaks.

After a few minutes of wandering around, Cloud found himself standing in front of a small shopping plaza, his unending thoughts having consumed his stream of consciousness entirely. There were a few stores here, including a humble-looking jewelry shop. His mind wandered idly back to Tifa… Her birthday was coming up pretty soon - sooner than he had initially realized. In the past, Tifa had said that she didn't need expensive gifts, but Cloud _wanted_ to buy her nice, expensive things. Why, he wasn't exactly sure. Maybe it was the least he could do after all he had put her through. He just wanted to show her that he cared... somehow. Her reaction was priceless when he had presented her, Marlene, Denzel, and Barret with matching rings. Could it really hurt to just look around a little? He moseyed into the shop, hands stuffed in his pockets, thinking back to the way her face had lit up that day.

A little bell on the door chimed as he walked in, and a feminine voice called "Just a second!" from somewhere in the back of the store. Glittering jewels of all sorts graced gold and silver-plated bracelets on one side of the shop, and the entire front section of display cases was dedicated to wedding rings and bands. Cloud felt his face heat up and he walked right past that area, wandering around the other side of the store until he found something that caught his attention.

In a small glass display case sat a row of delicate-looking lockets. Cloud traced his eyes over them, studying each one. They were pretty. Maybe it would be too much, but she had really loved the ring he had given her…

"Can I help you, sir?" a smiling woman with a soft southern drawl greeted him, emerging from the back of the shop.

"Oh, um… I was just looking…"

The woman smiled sweetly. She looked a bit older than Cloud, her eyes crinkling at the corners with laugh lines, but she was still reasonably attractive. "Trying to find the perfect gift for the lady back home?"

Cloud blushed slightly more, straightening from his hunched position over the glass display case. "… Something like that."

"Well, honey, you've come to the right place. And, I've gotta say, you've got good taste for a young man. All of the necklaces in this case are solid 24 karat gold."

Cloud nervously scratched the back of his neck. "Oh… Um… That's great. I just thought they looked nice…" He eyed the necklaces again, studying the design on each of them. "Um… How much are they?"

"Well, over here on this end is the least expensive one, see, 'cause the chain's a little thinner and the pendent is a bit smaller. This one will run you 4000 gil. And then they cost more until you get to this side, this big one here with the heart, it's got a little diamond in the center, and we can write an inscription on the inside or the back of it. That one is 6500 gil."

Cloud silently looked over the necklaces a moment longer. They were a little bit expensive, but they sure were pretty, especially the next to last one in the row. A delicate chain held the golden, heart-shaped pendent that he was currently admiring. It was less gaudy than the biggest one, but notably prettier than the others, Cloud decided. He wondered anxiously if the design of the necklace would be too offputting to Tifa, or if she would reprimand him for even buying her such an expensive gift in the first place. But, with the looming promise of 100,000 gil, he supposed he could afford to splurge a little. He wrestled with the idea for a moment longer, until the clerk's soft voice broke his train of thought.

"You know, you look kind of familiar…"

Cloud looked up and shrugged. "Strife Delivery Service. You name it, we deliver it."

The woman laughed sweetly. "No, no, I don't think that's it." An audible 'hmm' escaped her as she pondered where she might have seen the attractive blonde before. Cloud had never seen the woman in his life. "Strife, huh?" she mused. "Maybe I was mistaken. I just feel like I've seen you somewhere before." A smile pulled at her features. "Guess you're just one of those people who give off a familiar air."

"Maybe…" Cloud mumbled. The woman was nice, but she was making him uncomfortable, and he didn't want to wait around for her to realize who he actually was. With a calming breath, he cemented his decision.

"I'd like to buy this," Cloud stated simply, pointing to the proper necklace.

"Oh, excellent choice, sir!" the woman gushed, returning her attention to the jewelry. "It's beautiful. I'm sure the lucky lady will love it." She carefully took it out of the case, still smiling sweetly at Cloud. "You want an inscription written on it, hun? It's free of charge."

Cloud blinked. "I'm not sure what I'd want to inscribe on it."

Another knowing smile pulled at the salesperson's features. "Well, I always tell people, 'think about what you're trying to say'. This locket - it's a gift, right?" Cloud nodded stiffly. "Okay," she continued. "What are you trying to _say_ with this gift?"

What was he trying to say? He wasn't really sure... He could never get the words to come out right. He guessed, he was trying to say 'happy birthday'. But, no, that wasn't quite right. He definitely wanted to say more than that... He wanted to say, maybe, that the locket was very pretty, and it would look even prettier on Tifa. But he couldn't say that. He wanted to say, 'I'm sorry', and 'I know that material gifts won't make up for everything I've done, but I thought you might like this'... But he couldn't say that either. What _could_ he say, then? A thousand memories rushed through his mind in a moment's time, and his thoughts settled on a particular memory of a young Tifa situated at the top of a well.

"Um..." Cloud rubbed the back of his neck again, finding little comfort in the familiar nervous act.

"Don't be shy now, hun. Just tell me what you want and I'll type it into the machine right here."

Cloud gulped, suddenly feeling very young and boyish in the presence of the smiling woman. "… I want it to say 'I promise'".

_…_ _What am I doing?_

The clerk giggled quietly. "How sweet," she cooed. "It'll take just a minute, sweetheart. You wanna go ahead and do the transaction while we're waiting?"

"Um, sure…" he murmured as the woman inserted the necklace into the engraving machine.

 _No turning back now_.

He felt pretty stupid as he silently paid for the pricy gift, willing the heat to leave his burning cheeks. All he could do was hope and pray that Tifa liked it, and didn't feel embarrassed by it. He wasn't even sure how he was going to give it to her, let alone what else he should do for her birthday. Tifa was always busy with the bar, or with the kids. Did she ever get out for anything other than buying groceries?

"Alright, we're all done, sir. Now all you need is a photo and you'll be set."

"A photo?" he repeated, watching the woman carefully lay the necklace in a thin velvet box.

"Well of course, silly! That's what lockets are for. You should really put a picture of you two in there before you give it to her. Just my advice." She winked at him slyly, handing over the box and a receipt. "She's gonna love it."

"Thank you," he muttered, hastily making his way for the door.

"You come back and see me when you need an engagement ring, hun!"

The embarrassed swordsman left the shop without another word, feeling the heat creep around his neck, boiling up from his fiery cheeks. _Man_ , was he bad at these things. His grip on the velvet gift box was a little too tight as he hurriedly made his way back towards the restaurant, his mind reeling. Maybe he was making too big of a deal out of this. It was just a nice present – that's all. Tifa would probably just smile and appreciate the fact that he went out of his way to get her something anyway, even if she hated it. Still, he couldn't help but feel self-conscious. It wasn't just a stupid, trivial necklace after all, was it? It was an opportunity to open up to her, just a little bit more, and the idea of that was equally terrifying and exciting to Cloud.

After stopping to hide Tifa's gift in a compartment on his motorcycle, Cloud's hasty footsteps brought him to the front doors of Fat Danny's by 12:03. The restaurant was small and cramped, but packed full of customers. His eyes immediately fell upon the distinguishable redhead, who was seated in a dark corner in the back of the restaurant. Surprisingly, his usual counterpart, Rude, was nowhere to be seen. Cloud strode towards Reno with purpose, sitting down in the booth across from him and crossing his arms silently. Business proposal or not, he didn't have the patience for formal greetings with the Turk.

"You're three minutes late, yo," Reno stated flatly, reaching for a tall glass of beer. "Care to have a drink with me?"

"No, I wouldn't care to."

"Sheesh, you sure can be a moody guy, can't you?" He took a long drink from his glass. "Your whole crew is really no fun. Except for the ninja girl. Sly little devil…" Reno seemed to murmur the last part of his statement to himself, and Cloud could already feel his patience wearing thin.

"What's this 'proposition' you have for me, Reno?"

"Ah, it's always right down to business with you. Fine, if that's how you really want it…"

"It is."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." The Turk looked around cautiously for a moment, as if he were checking for eavesdroppers. "Look, I'm not actually supposed to tell you this. What I'm about to say is top-secret information."

Cloud's eyebrows rose briefly in surprise before falling back into their usual puckered position. Top-secret information that Reno thought he should share privately with him? Something was already beginning to smell fishy.

"Cloud, I've been hearing some rumors."

"Rumors?"

"Yeah. About a bunch of crazy shit. Powerful monsters popping up, secret summon materia being hidden away–"

"'Secret' summon materia?" Cloud wasn't too surprised to hear about the "powerful monsters", though he hadn't seen any recently – they tended to pop up from time to time. But "secret" summon materia? Hadn't his crew collected most of those?

Reno took another swig from his glass, eyeing Cloud cautiously. "Well, yeah. I mean, I know you picked up several of them two years ago. But where do you think Kadaj got Bahamut SIN from?"

Cloud furrowed his brows tighter; he'd never actually thought about it.

"I don't know."

"Exactly. Neither do we. But what we _do_ know is that we don't need anymore summon materia falling into the wrong hands. We don't need another Meteorfall incident." Reno chuckled mirthlessly at his own statement, but Cloud's face remained stoic, his mouth set in a hard line. "But don't worry about that, Cloud. We've got our intelligence team working on that matter."

"You mean Yuffie?"

"I _mean_ we've got it under control. But anyway, that's not what I really came here to tell you."

"Spit it out, then."

Reno opened his mouth to speak once again, but was interrupted by the abrupt appearance of a cheerful young waitress. He flashed a toothy grin at the woman, but she ignored him, running her eyes up and down Cloud instead.

"Oh! Heyyy, you've got a cute friend!" Reno's dumb smirk fell slowly from his face. The waitress smiled brightly at Cloud, and he gave her an irritated expression in return. She didn't seem to mind, though. "You want something to eat or drink, cutie?"

"I'll just have a glass of water, thanks."

"You don't want a beer? You look like a hard-working man. Maybe you need to take a load off." She smiled again, leaning over the table and blatantly showing off her cleavage.

"I'm fine, thank you."

The woman pouted childishly in response. "Oh, okay, I'll get you some water then. But you know," she stated foxily, "if you don't want a beer, maybe _I_ could help you take a 'load' off."

"I'm _fine_ , thank you," Cloud spat through gritted teeth.

The woman finally faltered, uttering a little ' _hmmph'_ and silently retreating to the back of the restaurant. Reno tried calling after her, wanting to ask for another beer, but she had completely ignored him and was gone. The red-haired man shot Cloud a dirty look.

"Man, why are the girls always all over you? You don't even _like_ girls."

Cloud's eyes narrowed dangerously. "The hell do you mean? Of course I like girls."

"More like you like _girl_."

Cloud realized in that moment how desperately he hated his cheeks for always turning red whenever he felt even slightly embarrassed. "Tell me what this top-secret information is, or I'm leaving."

The waitress returned, but thankfully, she only set Cloud's glass of water down silently and huffily went about her business. Reno leveled his eyes with Cloud's, his face uncharacteristically becoming very serious.

"I've heard rumors about an underground faction. A group of SOLDIERs that have had gods-know-what kind of experimentation done on them. And I've heard that they've been locked away underneath Midgar for years, and are currently trying to break out now. They might be… very dangerous."

Cloud stared blankly at Reno, his expression completely unchanged, though his brows were still tightly knitted together. "Why don't you stop them, then?" he inquired. "Or is that what you want to ask me to do?"

Reno leaned back in the booth, crossing his arms and effectively mimicking Cloud's aloof posture. "No, actually. We can't find them."

"What? …Really?"

"Really." Reno downed the last of his beer, wiping his chin with his shirt sleeve. "And even worse, I've heard that anyone who goes down there looking for them goes missing and never comes back."

Cloud understood. Reno was sent to ask him if he would go looking for these underground SOLDIERs, and they were going to pay him 100,000 gil to do it. Cloud weighed the pros and cons in his head. It sounded like a dangerous job, but it was so much money…

"Cloud, I asked you to come here today to warn you."

The swordsman snapped out of his thoughts, raising his eyebrows in surprise.

"Warn me?"

"Yeah… I don't really know what's going on, but I have a bad feeling about all of this. And you're pretty famous now, at least among certain people…" Reno tapped his fingers on the table uneasily. "Something big is going to happen soon. I know it. And those people, I don't know what they're after, but I can almost certainly say that they will be after _you_."

Cloud blinked. "Me? ...Why?"

"Don't be stupid, Cloud. You're a hot commodity right now, whether you realize it or not. As soon as they learn who you are, and what you're capable of, they'll either try to use you or kill you." Reno bored his eyes into Cloud's, so intensely that it almost made him uncomfortable. "Listen to me carefully. You need to protect yourself and your family. Watch your back, Cloud."

The swordsman stared down the Turk, an uneasy feeling sinking in and clouding the irritation he had just been experiencing. He had questions, but his response came out cold and impassive.

"I'm not getting paid for a job, am I?"

"Nope."

"Great." Cloud scooted out of the booth, standing up as he plainly stated, "I'm going, then."

In a moment's time, Reno's serious expression melted easily back into its usual dopey grin. "Gotta get back to the wife and kids already?"

Cloud felt his face flush a deeper shade of crimson, the corners of his mouth turning sharply downward and his eyes shooting daggers at the redhead across the booth.

"She's not my wife…" he mumbled bitterly.

"Wife, girlfriend, whatever." Reno waved his hand flippantly. "Say, uh, speaking of which, isn't her birthday coming up? What are you gonna get her?"

"That's none of your business."

"Oh, I know that." That stupid, smug smirk spread across the Turk's face again. "I just like pissing you off."

Cloud regarded the man coldly. "Next time you want to warn me about something, have someone send a message." He turned to leave, but paused as the redhead spoke once more.

"Cloud… I am serious, yo."

Cloud left without another word.

**•** **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

A waste of time. A complete waste of time. That's what his little run-in with Reno had been. Now he was running an hour late, which meant it was going to take an extra hour to drop all of his deliveries off, which meant he was going to arrive home an hour later than the already-late time he usually arrived home. Cloud sped faster than he needed to on Fenrir, steadily approaching the bike's maximum speed of 240 mph, as his blood boiled with unbridled rage.

What an irritating, stupid, immature person. Didn't he realize that Cloud was a busy man? He didn't have time for the Turk's silly little games. He had deliveries to make. He had money to collect. He had a family to come home to, a woman who would wait up for him until he came home. And that guy even had the _nerve_ to ask him personal questions about Tifa. How did he even know her birthday was coming up, anyway? The more he dwelled on the encounter, the angrier he became.

Besides, who did he think he was? Lying about a job, making him go out of his way, just to tell him some stupid _rumors_? This wasn't elementary school. This was the last thing he needed - something else to gnaw at his consciousness, tugging at him and bothering him until he really became concerned. Cloud bit his lip as he flew down the road, tasting the coppery blood that was produced from the minor injury. What if Reno _was_ right? What if there _was_ some kind of top-secret underground SOLDIER faction, created from the inhumane, experimental hands of Shinra? Would he honestly be that surprised? After all that Shinra had done, this would only be the icing on the shitty cake.

 _No_ , he decided. It was stupid. Just dumb rumors that meant nothing. There'd be no use worrying until there was definitive proof. But still… Cloud didn't really care too much about being targeted alone, for whatever reason some secret group would deem necessary. But what Reno had said about Tifa and the kids…

_'_ _You need to protect yourself and your family. Watch your back, Cloud.'_

Those words echoed dangerously in his mind, no matter how hard he tried to push them out. Anger slowly gave way to fear as the words slithered in and settled into the pit of his stomach, seeping into his brain like a poison. _'Protect yourself and your family'_... A wave of guilt washed over him as he sorrowfully recalled his past. Protecting people was something he… just wasn't good at.

By the time Cloud arrived in Mideel, he had completely become self-absorbed within a tangled web of emotions. He followed his map methodically, greeting customers with a standard handshake and a stone-set face. It was long, arduous, torturous work. He slowly felt himself fall deeper and deeper into the black hole that was his depression as the day trudged on. It was a familiar, unwelcome feeling. The darkness crawled in like a wounded animal, settling its weight in the safety of Cloud's chest. The one, noticeable difference, this time, was the simple fact that Cloud didn't want to run away and be alone. He just wanted to go home.

**•** **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

Cloud arrived at the 7th Heaven around two in the morning, parking Fenrir in the back garage and lugging all of his gear around to the front, with Tifa's birthday gift carefully hidden away in his bag of maps and receipts. He jiggled his keys into the lock of the front door, opening it to the enticing scent of homemade chili. It smelled heavenly, and Cloud's stomach began to rumble.

_Have I even eaten today?_

Breakfast. He had eaten breakfast. Relocking the door and setting his bags down, Cloud noticed that Tifa was, as always, in her usual place, curled up on the old sofa in the living area, the same book she was reading the night before falling out of the grasp of her right hand. He always found her like this, almost always in the same way. The book would change periodically – as she finished one, she would move on to another. Sometimes she would even think to bring her pillow and blanket downstairs to make herself more comfortable. Most of the time, though, it seemed as though she had tried to stay up waiting on Cloud, and had fallen asleep on accident. He had told her many times before not to wait up for him, and that she would sleep much better in her bed, but she would never listen. He sighed and unholstered his sword, setting it carefully against the wall and walking quietly over to where Tifa lay. Gently, he dipped down and scooped her into his arms, and started to carry her bridal-style out of the living area and up the staircase. He'd just have to eat that chili a little later.

The barmaid stirred in his arms and clutched to him as he carried her. This had become a part of their nightly routine for the past few months, as well as the nightmares and visits from Tifa in the later hours of the night.

"Nnngh, Cloud…"

"It's ok Teef, I got you."

"Nnnngh… I fell asleep again…"

"Mm-hmm. And I'm gonna tell you not to wait up on me again."

Tifa yawned sleepily. "Just wanted to make sure you got home safe."

A frown tugged at the corners of Cloud's lips. "I always get home safe, Tifa. You know you don't have to worry about me." Always. She was always worried about him. He didn't want her to worry anymore, and he didn't want her to wait up on him until she passed out. Although, admittedly, Cloud couldn't deny that he sort of derived a guilty pleasure from it. He really did wish that Tifa wouldn't stay up until she passed out from exhaustion, but on the other hand, he was thankful to be able to pick her up like this, with her clutching onto the front of his shirt, every night. In an odd way, he sort of looked forward to it.

He deposited her gently into her bed, pulling the tattered old blanket over her body. This was usually where he would say "Goodnight, Tifa" and stride out of the room, but this time, a calloused but feminine hand stopped him.

"Cloud…"

He stilled, turning to face her. She could probably just barely make out his features, but he could see her perfectly fine in the dimly lit room, his Mako-blue eyes glowing brightly.

"Yeah?"

Tifa didn't say anything for a moment, but held onto Cloud's sleeve.

"You're… gonna come home safe every night, right?"

Cloud frowned slightly, carefully sitting down on the edge of Tifa's bed. She slowly released the grasp of his sleeve, laying her hand down next to his, but not touching it. The Fenrir ring that she always wore glinted in the dim moonlight.

"I'm not going to leave you again, Tifa."

He shuffled uncomfortably, stealing a glance at the brunette, who looked up at him with tired eyes. She was gazing at him very intently, like she was studying every slight movement he made. Cloud suddenly felt very awkward.

"How did you know that's what I really meant?"

"I know a lot more about you than I used to."

"Really?" Tifa mumbled. "Like what?"

Cloud held his breath for a moment before speaking. "Like the fact that you read romance-mystery novels every night after you finish cleaning up the bar. Or that you like hot pepper sauce in your scrambled eggs... Which is really gross, by the way."

A soft, tired giggle bubbled up from Tifa, breaking the tension and eliciting a timid smile from Cloud in return.

"I guess you're right, Cloud. But… you don't know everything."

Cloud blinked owlishly. "I don't?"

Tifa just smiled softly, propping herself up into a sitting position and shaking her head 'no'. A strange look crossed her pretty face, a look that Cloud couldn't quite decipher, and she opened her mouth, hesitating to speak.

"…Would it be weird if I said that I miss you?"

Instantaneously, Cloud's cheeks caught on fire. He swallowed very deliberately, wanting to avert his gaze but completely unable to. He was transfixed on Tifa and whatever she was about to say next. After a moment, though, she didn't say anything. Instead, she gently placed her hand on top of Cloud's.

He froze at the contact, unsure of what to do. His muscles seized up like he was ready to jump into battle and the flame that was dancing on his cheeks spread to his whole face. His heart began pounding against his chest and he prayed to Odin that Tifa couldn't hear it.

"U-Um…" was all he could manage to stammer.

She squeezed his hand gently, and then released it as quickly as she had touched it.

"I'm sorry, Cloud. I guess I just miss the days when you came home early, and I thought things would go back to the way they were", she confessed. "I miss spending time together, all four of us. And I miss the silly little conversations we used to always have…" Tifa looked away, her eyes becoming watery. "I'm sorry… that's dumb, isn't it?"

Cloud regained a little bit of composure, though his entire nervous system was still set ablaze. "No, it's not dumb at all… It's…"

_It's really… nice._

Cloud shook his head, trying to pull his thoughts together. "I miss you too, Tifa," he blurted out.

The brunette looked at him again, eyes still lightly sparkling with unfallen tears. "Really?"

"Well, yeah…" Cloud was thankful that it was so dark, because his face was probably as red as a tomato. "Honestly, I hate being away from home. I want to spend more time with you and the kids… But I'm really not sure how, without losing business… And we need the money…"

"Oh, Cloud…" Tifa swiped at her eyes. "We don't need the money that bad…"

Cloud was bitterly reminded of the 100,000 gil that he would never receive. "Yeah we do, Teef," he stated quietly. The bar made just enough money to keep the lights on and the water running, but the overhead costs kept them from making much more profit. Even though the 7th Heaven got good business, people didn't have much money to give. Cloud even knew that Tifa would sometimes give away food for free to homeless people, or would let them trade in inexpensive items instead of coughing up cold, hard gil. "You know that most of our income comes from the Delivery Service… And we all have to eat… Marlene and Denzel need money for school…" Cloud sighed quietly. "There's really just not much I can do at this point. I want to be home, but…"

Tifa chuckled softly, breaking Cloud's thoughts. "Look at us talking about money, Cloud…" She shook her head, smiling. "When did we become so _normal?"_

Cloud was quiet, thinking deeply for a moment. When _had_ they become so normal? After Meteorfall? After they had opened the new bar? After he created Strife Delivery Service? Maybe they hadn't ever really become normal at all. After all, they weren't exactly your run-of-the-mill family. But… they were a family, all the same.

"I don't know, Tifa," he mused. "But I like it better this way."

She smiled in return. "Me too."

They were quiet for a moment, and Cloud took a deep breath, steadying his nerves.

"Oh, by the way, Cloud," Tifa started, her tone now more calm and balanced, "what did Reno want? He came to the bar today and asked for your number…"

Cloud shook his head, not wanting to recollect the wasted time he had spent with the Turk. "I don't really know. He was very vague and cryptic."

Tifa looked at him curiously, tilting her head. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, he called me and said he needed to talk to me because he had a mission for me that would pay 100,000 gil." He continued his statement as Tifa's eyebrows raised in surprise. "But then he just said that he wanted to warn me and that there wasn't actually any mission at all. Or any gil."

Tifa's brow furrowed, her confusion apparent. "Warn you? About what?"

Cloud sighed softly. "I don't know. He started going on about some rumors he'd heard, and said that there's supposed to be some sort of 'underground faction' of SOLDIERs that are very strong, and then he said they might come after me or something, but when I asked him why, he didn't give a clear answer… Just said they would either try to use me or kill me, once they find out who I am… I'm telling you, he wasn't making a lot of sense." His brow furrowed as well, feeling irritated at the whole situation all over again. "It was a waste of time," he stated flatly.

Tifa was silent for a moment, obviously digesting the information he had just told her and thinking very hard about it. Finally, she looked up at Cloud, showing an all-too-familiar worried expression. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Of course I'm going to be okay, Tifa." Cloud shook his head. Just one more thing to keep her up at night. "Look, don't worry about it, okay? It's no big deal. Besides, this is all just rumors anyway, and can we _really_ trust anything that comes out of that idiot's mouth?"

Tifa's lips were set in a hard line, her eyes serious. "This isn't a joke, Cloud…"

He shook his head again. "I know it's not a joke. But I'm not worried about it and I don't want you to worry either. Everything is going to be fine, so just don't think too much about it. Okay?" Tifa was looking down, seemingly studying the individual threads in the bed sheets, so Cloud reached out to her without thinking, gingerly cupping her chin and turning her face to look at his. His eyes found hers, and they softened upon holding her gaze. " _Okay?_ " he prodded, gently.

"…Okay."

His hand fell from Tifa's chin slowly. His mind suddenly felt very heavy and tired. "Good," he stated, standing and languorously walking towards the door. He turned and reached for the back of his neck, scratching nervously. "Just try to get some rest, okay?"

"Only if you do the same," Tifa uttered, echoing her statement from the previous night.

Cloud attempted a reassuring smile. "Of course." He turned on his heel, hesitating at the doorframe. "'Night, Teef."

"Goodnight, Cloud."

He left her there, leaving her bedroom door cracked ajar just slightly, as she always kept it, and trudged to his room, falling heavily on his bed. He felt completely exhausted. The bad dream from the previous night, the lack of sleep, the brooding thoughts, the irritation with Reno, the anxiety surrounding Tifa's birthday, and the simple fact that he had hardly eaten were all just too much. Cloud kicked his boots off lazily, contemplating getting up and actually changing into some pajamas, but ultimately deciding that it wasn't worth it. He'd need to shower in the morning, which meant he'd have to wake up around 5:40 so that he could finish before Tifa took hers…

_Sleep… Shiva, I need to sleep…_

Sleep didn't come for a long time, though. Cloud's thoughts raced, new worries and concerns jumping into his stream of consciousness and circling around in an agonizing waltz. He had told Tifa not to worry, yet here he was, worrying himself into a deeper and deeper state of paranoia.

_He wouldn't have gone out of his way just to say something to me unless he really thought it was important…_

That was an absolute fact, and there was no denying it. The revelation chilled Cloud to the bone – Reno only helped him out when he was in deep shit. Something bad was going on, but he had no idea what was really happening, or where to even begin searching for answers. He thought for a long time, silently cursing himself for failing to come up with any solutions, until it finally hit him: Reeve. That's right, he could call Reeve. And that's exactly what he would do in the morning, once he was safely alone on Fenrir. Completely drained and satisfied enough with his plan, Cloud settled into an uneasy but heavy slumber.

**•** **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

"Cloud…" Her voice shook as she murmured his name, hardly louder than a whisper. "…Words aren't the only thing that tell people what you're thinking…."

The sky was painted brilliant shades of crimson and tangerine under the setting sun, and the drone of the Highwind's engine was loud enough to drown out the sounds of the evening locusts, but Tifa's words echoed and reverberated around Cloud's mind as if she had yelled them.

_Tifa…_

Slowly, he turned to face her, only to see that tears were streaming down her pretty face. Somehow, some way, his body was moving, his legs pulling him forward with steps that he wasn't consciously taking. His arm followed suit, his hand reaching out to cup the brunette's cheek as he delicately thumbed away a falling tear.

"Tifa…"

Instantaneously, it happened. A million nerve endings responded and fired off signals to Cloud's hazy brain as Tifa Lockheart kissed him passionately. He was losing himself quickly, falling into her embrace as time and space melted away and left only the two of them there, in that place. They ended up on the ground, somehow, and her clothes, they were pushed up, pushed down, pushed _out of the way_ so that Cloud could gain access to as much of her enticing skin as possible. His lips trailed down her tight stomach, leaving searing kisses on her milky skin before he lifted himself back up to look at her beautiful face.

"Cloud!"

_What?... That voice…_

"Cloud! Pay attention, man! Get off of my woman and help me fight these guys!"

_What…? 'Get off of my woman?' Fight?... Tifa?..._

His mind was whirling; nothing made sense anymore. He looked down at the woman who was pinned beneath him, only to be met with jade eyes that were more than a bit unwelcome.

_Her eyes… these aren't her eyes._

"…Aerith?"

"Cloud, hurry!"

The voice again. Cloud was standing now, and he didn't know where Aerith, or for that matter, where Tifa had gone, but that didn't matter right now. There were hundreds of SOLDIERs surrounding a man with spiky black hair, attacking him from all sides. Cloud let out a roar and charged into battle, his sword grazing the earth beneath him. He fought hard, feeling every muscle in his body heat up and become electrified. Ten SOLDIERs were down, twenty, and then forty. How many were there? They just kept coming, endless men taking the place of the fallen bodies.

"CLOUD!"

Zack's voice sent an electric shock down the blonde's spine, and he turned, horrified at the site that was before his eyes. The army of SOLDIERs had transformed into clones of Sephiroth. They stood arrogantly, silently smirking at the fighting duo. One of them came forward, holding a rifle instead of his signature katana.

"Cloud, look at how easily I can hurt you."

White noise and blinding light filled his senses, and he fell to the ground, clutching his head. There was nothing but pain. Nothing existed outside of this torture. It lasted a lifetime, it hurt him for an eternity. And then, finally, when he thought the pain would finally subside…

_BANG._

"ZACK!"

He rushed to the fallen man, watching helplessly as blood bubbled up from his mortal wound and pooled around his body. He was dead, he knew he was dead, he was dead and he was never coming back.

_No… no… this isn't how it ends… He's supposed to tell me… That I'm his…_

"See, Cloud? I don't even have to touch you to cause you incredible pain." The silver-haired devil wiped the blood off of his katana that was somehow in his grasp in place of the gun. "Too bad the girl couldn't have died with him. They'll have to make their journeys to the Lifestream separately."

"…Shut up."

Zack's lifeless body lay to his right, and Aerith's to his left, and he stood in between them uselessly, maliciously eyeing the thousands of Sephiroth's that loomed before him.

"They were foolish to test my power. Just like you, Cloud."

"Shut up!"

The monster's voice was filling his head like a wailing siren. It exploded and erupted inside his mind, tearing apart the delicate tissues that made up his brain.

"That's really all you're going to say? Well, if these two won't hurt you anymore… I guess I'll have to kill the others."

"Shut up shut up SHUT UP!"

Cloud charged, flying across the battlefield towards the Sephiroth that was speaking to him. His voice was screaming, crying out, but no sound escaped his lips as he plunged his sword into the murderer's chest. Only, his sword hit nothing. Sharp, derisive laughter filled his head again, and his mind shut out everything but the intense sensation of pain that the voice brought him.

"Come, puppet. Do my bidding."

His hands were grasping his sword, his arms were lifted high above his head, and his legs were moving forward slowly, trudging to some unknown place. He couldn't stop. He couldn't control his body for even a second as he moved forward like a marionette being tugged by its strings. It took immeasurable strength to even open his eyes, to look out and see his victims coming into view – a young boy, a little girl, and a woman with auburn eyes that burned with resolve.

_No… NO…_

**•** **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

"NO!"

"Cloud! Cloud, shh! It's okay, it's okay! Cloud…"

He panted heavily, and his eyes wildly took in his surroundings, which were taken up completely by the vision of a very healthy and alive-looking Tifa. He felt a cool hand on his burning-hot cheek, saw silky hair sweeping over fabric-covered shoulders and watched those same auburn eyes staring back into his own with a worried expression.

_A dream… Just another dream…_

"Tifa… Oh, shit…" He clutched at his head. It was pounding.

"It's okay, Cloud... Just relax… Breathe…"

He wanted to close his eyes, to shut out the image of Tifa's worried expression, but the gruesome visions from his nightmare filled his head when he did. He opted instead to turn on his side, away from the brunette that was hovering over him. He could hear tiny footsteps coming down the hall.

_Damn it, I woke the kids up…_

A moment later, there was a timid knock at the door.

"Come in, sweetie," Tifa uttered softly.

The door pushed open slowly, letting light filter in from the hallway. "Um… Cloud?" The voice was deeper and more boyish than Cloud had expected. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay, Denzel. I just had a bad dream." The blonde rolled over to his other side, looking at the young boy with tired eyes. "I'm sorry I woke you up. Did I wake Marlene, too?"

"No…" he responded quietly. "She's a heavy sleeper, I guess."

"Yeah, guess she is…"

Silence fell over the room for a moment. Silence that wasn't comfortable in the slightest.

"Denzel," Tifa murmured, "Cloud's okay now, so we should all get back to bed, okay?"

The boy stood in silence, unmoving, before nodding his head in compliance. "Will you come tuck me in again?"

"Of course, sweetheart." The old bed creaked as Tifa stood up, and Cloud watched her lovingly place her hands on Denzel's shoulders as she guided him out of the room.

"Cloud," the brown-haired boy called, "I hope your nightmares go away…"

Cloud smiled wanly at the boy. "Thanks, Denzel. Me too. Good night."

"Good night… Cloud."

Tifa shot a halfhearted smile at him before she exited the doorway. Cloud rolled onto his back again, rubbing at his temples. He couldn't ignore the fact that he had an absolutely _excruciating_ headache now, and once again, he was completely soaked in sweat. Lovely.

 _Why_ did it have to be this way? Hadn't he moved on? If he had, then why did he keep having dreams about Aerith? About Zack? About Sephiroth mind-fucking him over and over again? And worst of all, why, why, _why_ did he have to have these dreams about Tifa? About hurting her? About hurting the children?

"Ugh… Fuck…"

Cloud didn't have a penchant for cussing, but lately that had started to change. It was only one of many new characteristics that he was developing. He just wished the nightmares weren't one of those traits as well. He sighed, listening to Tifa's hushed whispers to Denzel coming from the other room. She was talking just quietly enough to where even his enhanced sense of hearing couldn't make out what she was saying. He felt ashamed, knowing that she was trying to soothe Denzel, but also purposefully making sure that he couldn't hear her. After a few minutes, she padded down the hallway and appeared in the doorway.

"Cloud…"

Tifa entered the room and softly shut the door behind her, quietly making her way over to the bed and sitting on the edge of it once again. She didn't say anything, but placed her hand on Cloud's forehead. "You're burning up."

"I'm not sick."

"I know, but…" She frowned, letting her cool hand trail down to Cloud's temple, stroking a strand of his sweat-soaked haired off of his face. The sensation felt nice.

"It hurts there," he stated plainly. The words tumbled out easily.

"Where? Here?" Slowly, Tifa began to rub soothing circles into Cloud's pounding temple.

"…Yeah."

He closed his eyes, allowing himself to sink into the feeling of her touch. It was therapeutic, his very own brand of Tifa-flavored medicine. He knew he shouldn't let her keep going like this, though. Maybe it was awkward… Or maybe it wasn't. But… either way, she needed to go back to sleep.

It just felt so _good_ , though. Her touch was soft and comforting, and he couldn't stop himself from letting out a soft 'mmm' when her other hand slipped to the side of his face and she began rubbing slow circles into his opposite temple. Reluctantly, he cracked open his eyes.

"Tifa, you don't have to… You should stop…"

"Shhh," was all she said back. She pushed a little harder, putting just the right amount of pressure into the innocent massage that she was administering. Cloud's eyes slipped shut again. If she was okay with this, then he was okay with this, too. More than okay with it. He focused on the feeling of her hands and took note of how gently she was touching him. He wanted to stay like this forever, feeling her healing touch for all of eternity until the sun exploded and the universe collapsed, but he felt himself fading fast. Before he knew it, he had succumbed to exhaustion and was lullabied to sleep by the rhythmic circles that she was burying into his aching temples. He swore, maybe, somewhere in the deep recesses of his mind, that she had leaned down and given him a soft kiss on his forehead… But that had probably just been a dream, too.


	4. Confrontation

The incessant buzzing of the alarm clock woke an exhausted brunette from her fretful slumber. Tifa stirred, clenching her eyes tightly shut even though it was too early in the morning for any sunlight to filter in through the dusty window.

_Just five more minutes..._

Five more minutes would mean five minutes less to get ready, though. Reluctantly, Tifa propped herself up on her elbow and hit the 'off' button on the alarm, yawning sleepily. A long, hot shower would wake her up enough to start her morning routine. Slowly, she made her way out of the bedroom, still in a sleepy stupor, until a thin sliver of light creeping out from under the crack of Cloud's bedroom door caught her attention.

_He's never up this early..._

For a moment, she debated knocking on his door to check on him, but decided against it. He was probably getting tired of her constant worrying and the almost maternal demeanor she had been treating him with. He could take care of himself, right? Sighing inwardly, she doubled back to her room and grabbed her clothes for the day, and then quietly padded down the hallway towards the bathroom. Strangely, she felt keenly aware that Cloud could probably hear her almost-silent footsteps.

The bathroom was still steamy, presumably from Cloud using the shower while she was still sleeping. The taps took a few minutes to run the warm water; the rigged plumbing and water heating system was far from top-of-the-line. Tifa stepped in anyway, letting the less-than-hot water wet her hair. If only her racing thoughts wouldn't assault her during every second she wasn't busy, the shower might be a cleansing moment of peace. Instead, visions of Cloud from the previous night flashed in her mind. He had just looked so... tired. Wild, fearful eyes had given way to a slouchy, hopeless gaze. She couldn't bear to see that look in his eyes any longer.

With a sigh, Tifa finished her disappointingly quick and tepid shower, dressed, brushed her teeth, and dried her bangs. _The only attempt I ever make at giving myself any sort of style_ , she mused. _Maybe a haircut..._

The loud whirring of the hair dryer was soon replaced by muffled sounds of childish laughter wafting up the stairs. A surprised expression flitted across Tifa's face as she exited the bathroom and walked down the stairs, noting that Cloud's door was now open and he wasn't in his room. The smell of burnt food accosted her nostrils as she made her way towards the kitchen.

_The kids are already up? Cloud is cooking breakfast? That's strange..._

"Cloud, you're gonna burn the sausages!" cried a girlish voice.

"... I think I already have, Marlene" a quiet, deeper voice replied.

Tifa popped her head into the kitchen, calling out Cloud's name, her tone questioning.

"Oh... Morning, Teef. Uh... Breakfast is almost ready."

"I see that," she replied, wrinkling her nose, "but I think you might be right about burning those sausages..."

Cloud shot her an apologetic look. It was strange enough to see the scene laid out before her. She cooked breakfast almost every single day, and hadn't seen Cloud attempting to cook _anything_ in the kitchen since several months ago. Not only that, but the kids were up with him, already dressed and apparently ready for school. Marlene insisted on taking the spatula out of Cloud's hand, and began flipping the sausages in the pan, while Denzel busied himself by spreading jelly on several pieces of toast. Cloud looked back at her, his lips lifting the most infinitesimal amount into a tiny, uncertain smile. It was so surreal to see them like this, but... It was kind of nice, too.

"Um..." Tifa mumbled, "Should I take over from here?"

"No!" both Marlene and Denzel uttered at once, catching both Tifa and Cloud by surprise. "We've got it under control, Tifa!" Marlene offered, smiling brightly at the brunette for a moment's time before turning her attention back to the semi-burnt sausages. "Just go sit down and we'll bring breakfast out in just a minute!"

Tifa and Cloud exchanged glances, Cloud shrugging his shoulders and moving to go help Denzel.

"Okay, I'll leave you to it then.." Tifa murmured, leaving the kitchen and sitting at their usual breakfast table in the bar, as instructed.

_How strange..._

Tifa knew that Cloud was exhausted; she could see it in his eyes, despite his obvious attempt to hide it. The kids seemed to be well, though. Even Denzel seemed content working on the toast and getting the plates and glasses down from the cabinets. It was sort of sweet, seeing the three of them working together like that. Still, she felt weird having them cook for _her_. This is what she did every morning. Why did everyone decide to wake up early and take care of her chores for her today? Was it 'opposite day' or something? She must have missed the memo.

Marlene purposefully strode out of the kitchen just moments later, her brows knitted worriedly as she carried a plate full of food in each hand. Denzel followed behind with two more plates, a small smile gracing his features, and Cloud followed suit with his arms full of glasses, utensils, and a jug of milk. There it was again - the exhausted look in his eyes, the faintest hint of a frown pulling at his features, right before he perked his expression back up into a barely-there smile. He was trying to hide how he really felt. From her? From the kids? Or from all of them? She wasn't really sure.

The blonde must have noticed the way she was studying him, because he opened his mouth like he was about to say something, before Marlene began chattering as she set her plates down.

"I tried to save the sausages, but they're still a little burnt..."

Tifa pulled her eyes away from Cloud, looking at the little girl and smiling warmly. "That's okay Marlene. Breakfast looks delicious. Besides, I'm sure Cloud did his best. Right, Cloud?"

The swordsman shrugged, settling himself in a chair and stabbing a steaming sausage with his fork. "I did. Guess there's a reason I'm not the cook around here."

Tifa giggled quietly, even though it was a bit forced. Polite conversation would have to do for now.

"So, what's the deal, guys?" Tifa nodded her head towards the children. "You two are up early and dressed for school, and I come downstairs to find _Cloud_ of all people cooking breakfast. Is it a holiday or something?"

Denzel's eyes flashed to Marlene. "Well, actually..." Denzel started.

"It is a holiday!" Marlene boasted, smiling brightly. "I mean, it's a holiday that we made up," she amended, "but it's still a holiday. We're calling it 'Be Extra Good' day!"

Tifa and Cloud exchanged amused glances, the former quirking her eyebrow at Marlene. "'Be Extra Good' day, huh? Sounds pretty interesting."

Marlene nodded her head enthusiastically. "We know that both of you are tired from working real hard lately. And Denzel told me that Cloud hasn't been sleeping very well." Denzel's cheeks flushed a rosy tint of red, and he chomped down on his toast, opting not to say anything. "So we decided to start this holiday so that you two can get some rest," Marlene continued. "That's why we got up early and cooked breakfast for you! We're going to be on our best behavior today, so you don't have to worry about us!" With that, Marlene dug into her eggs, grinning at Cloud as she did so.

Tifa felt her lips curl into a genuine smile. _How sweet,_ she thought. Denzel never was one for getting into trouble, but Marlene could definitely be a handful sometimes. She wondered idly if this whole thing was Denzel's idea. Tifa stole a sideways glance at Cloud, whose mouth was forming the tiniest grin, before returning to eating his breakfast. He had already gobbled down most of his plate, she noticed.

"Well, that's very thoughtful of you two," Tifa uttered. "I think I like this holiday. But, you two are good kids anyway. Even if you _can_ be a pain in the butt sometimes." Tifa winked at Marlene, who playfully stuck her tongue out in return. Denzel laughed quietly at the exchange, and even Cloud chuckled softly, before returning to the kitchen to grab seconds.

The rest of their breakfast was undeniably pleasant; Marlene asked about Barret again, who, to her dismay, hadn't called again in a day's time, and Denzel began talking about school, mentioning that they were trying to open a workshop. "Maybe you could come in and show my classmates how to work on motorcycles? How to check the fluids and everything?" he inquired, his eyes boyishly lighting up. Cloud smiled at him, simply replying, "Yeah, maybe I could."

"Alright, you two," Tifa said after everyone had finished eating. "You got everything ready for school?"

"Yeah!" Marlene declared, while Denzel nodded his head. "We can wash the dishes before we leave."

"No, it's okay, Marlene. You two need to get going. I'll see you this afternoon."

Cloud cleared his throat awkwardly as he rose from the table. "I'll, uh, hopefully be getting home pretty early tonight, so... I'll see all of you later." The kids' faces both lit up with joy, Denzel's especially, and Cloud offered a shy smile to his family. Marlene grabbed her backpack and gave both Tifa and Cloud quick hugs goodbye, which Cloud accepted much easier this time, and practically bounded out the front door of the bar, hollering "Come on, Denzel!" as she left. Denzel shyly looked at Cloud before silently grabbing his backpack as well.

"Hey, Denzel," the blonde called, striding over to the younger boy and crouching down to his level. "Thanks for the 'holiday'. I know you came up with it."

Denzel looked at the ground and shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "...Actually, it was Marlene's idea. I just told her that you weren't sleeping very well."

Tifa was surprised. She rested her chin in her hands, watching the interaction between Cloud and Denzel curiously from her seat at the table.

"That's surprising," Cloud echoed her thoughts. "Well... have a good day at school, and I'll see you tonight. Hopefully in time for dinner."

A surge of excitement coursed through Tifa's stomach. The thought of all of them eating dinner together, as a family, was almost enough to cause happy tears to well up in her eyes. Hell, they hadn't all eaten dinner together for almost a year.

_I should cook something special..._

Denzel looked back at Cloud, a small smile forming on his lips. "Can I help you plan your routes for next week when you get home?"

Cloud ruffled the boy's hair. "Of course. Marlene can help, too. And Tifa, if she wants." He turned and smiled at her, one of those small, genuine smiles that were seemingly appearing more and more frequently. Tifa felt like her heart might explode.

Denzel smiled brightly. "Awesome," he said simply.

Cloud chuckled softly, standing and giving Denzel a strong pat on his shoulder. "You better run and catch Marlene. See you tonight."

"See ya," the boy responded brightly, adding a "Bye, Tifa," as he went to leave. With that, he was gone.

Tifa was ecstatic. A light, bubbly feeling was filling up her chest, and for the first time in a while, she felt, really, truly, _happy_. She didn't want that feeling to end.

Cloud stared at the closed front door of the bar for a moment, before turning back to Tifa and giving her a quizzical look. "What?"

"What?" she echoed. "Oh... It's nothing." Tifa realized that she probably had a dopey grin on her face, and she stood up, making herself busy by clearing the dishes off the table. She could hear Cloud following suit behind her. "So... you'll be home for dinner?" She gently set the dishes in the sink, turning to face Cloud. "...Really?" The question came out more earnestly than she had anticipated.

Cloud's face flushed the lightest shade of pink as he set his dishes in the sink as well. "Yeah," he said, turning on the water and avoiding looking at Tifa. "I have some business in Midgar today, and I'm basically done with deliveries for the week. It shouldn't take me too long." He started scrubbing the gunk off a plate with a soapy sponge.

"Oh, Cloud, I can get that."

"No, it's okay," he responded, rinsing off the dish. "I'll wash. You can dry this time." He finally looked at Tifa, a timid smile gracing his features, his weary eyes crinkling up just the tiniest bit.

Tifa felt her stomach do one of those familiar backflips. Sometimes it happened when he would look at her in just a certain way. "O-Okay," she stammered.

Cloud returned to his work, and they worked in comfortable silence for a while again, just as they had the morning before. Washing the dishes felt a lot more enjoyable this way. As Tifa continued her methodic work, though, her happiness slowly deflated as she thought about the previous night. All of those gracious smiles from him this morning... Were they even real?

"Hey, Cloud..." She wasn't even really sure what she wanted to say. Had he gotten enough sleep? Had he been eating? He sure had scarfed breakfast down. What about what Reno told him? Was he actually worried about that? Was he really in such a good mood this morning, or was it just for show? Was he coming home early because he wanted to, or...?

"Are you okay?" A simple question. Simple enough, at least.

Cloud didn't stop his scrubbing. "...I don't know," he admitted. "Maybe."

It all came spilling out. "It's just that... You got, what, maybe three hours of sleep last night? And you acted like you were starving at breakfast, and you look so tired, and you move so slowly now, and you've been having those nightmares every night and you wake up mumbling and sweating and hurting and..." She trailed off. Maybe she had said too much.

Cloud grabbed another dirty pan, never stopping his work. "You worry too much," he stated. "Especially about me."

Tifa shook her head. "I'm sorry, Cloud, but... To be honest, I can't help but worry. Worrying is all I know." The blonde frowned at his companion's statement. "And... I'm just so happy that you're not sick anymore, that I..." Tifa trailed off again, her words failing her. Cloud stopped his methodic scrubbing, though his eyes were still locked on the dish that he was currently holding. "I just... want you to be okay." Tifa felt her face heat up slightly and she looked away from the man standing beside her. Once again, she had said too much.

"Hey..." Cloud's voice was soft. "Look at me."

Tifa did. Her eyes met a gentle, yet serious gaze; a hand, still wet, trailing fingertips down her bicep, their touch barely-there. Electric energy sizzled up Tifa's arm from the point where his fingers had touched her, sending a chill down her spine.

"I _am_ okay. Everything is gonna be okay. I promise."

_I promise..._

The words elicited the echoes of a distant memory. "You promise?" she repeated. "You promise a really _real_ Cloud-Strife promise?" she added playfully. "Because you know how serious those are."

Cloud's eyes crinkled up at the corners again and he chuckled quietly. "Yeah. I promise."

Tifa decided that today was going to be a good day.

**•** **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

The streets of Edge were bustling with people, even on a sleepy Wednesday morning. Tifa usually only left her bar once a week to go grocery shopping, and she felt like more and more people were filtering in from Midgar every time she left 7th Heaven. The shopping district was probably the most crowded area, having been hastily thrown together by a slew of outdoor vendors and tiny shops. Tifa made her way through the masses expertly, slipping through gaps in the crowd every now and then. The smell of street food was tempting her, but she was too busy to dawdle around and had little time to finish her errands. Just the way she liked it.

After paying a few bills to the relatively newfound water and sewage company, Tifa made her way to her favorite little grocery store. A squat old woman was seated in a rocking chair behind the checkout counter, as she usually was. Her name was Beatrice. She was a sweet old lady, and she offered some of the lowest prices on food in the immediate area, despite the fact that her produce and meats were usually some of the fresher finds in Edge as well.

"Oh, well good morning Tifa!" the woman exclaimed in a shaky old voice. "It's good to see you again! How are the children?"

Tifa smiled as she picked up a basket and proceeded to grab items off of her grocery list. "They're doing great, Beatrice. They decided that today is a holiday called "Be Extra Good" day, so they're doing even better than normal." Tifa giggled quietly. _Maybe I should buy them a little treat... Make a cake or something..._

"Oh, that's so good to hear!" Beatrice said as she clapped her hands together. Tifa enjoyed the weekly small talk with the old lady. She listened to her ramble on about nothing important as she went about her shopping. Apparently, the woman's garden was thriving, and her grandson had just started dating a sweet young girl.

"Fine young woman, she is. Looks a little bit like you. I hope they stay together and get married so that I can be around to see some great-grandbabies!" The old lady laughed heartily. "When are you and that blonde-headed boy going to get married?"

Tifa abruptly dropped the box of cake mix she had been examining. "U-um... Cloud?" she stammered out. "We, uh... Gee, I don't know. We're not dating or anything, so, I don't think marriage is really..." Her voice faltered, and Tifa felt her face heat up red-hot as she quickly gathered the rest of the items she needed, cake mix included. "Anyway, don't worry about that, Miss Beatrice!" Tifa forced out a nervous laugh. "I've got my hands full with the kids and the bar, so I don't think about that kind of stuff very often."

_Well, maybe not about marriage in particular..._

She wasn't sure if she could even envision Cloud getting married to... anyone. All dressed up in a suit, his hair nicely slicked back... _No, that doesn't look right_. The hair would have to stay spiky.

"Oh honey, I didn't mean to embarrass you. Your face is as red as those apples in your basket there," the old woman stated. "I won't bother you about it again. That Cloud does seem like a very nice young man, though. He is one of Gaia's heroes, after all."

Tifa smiled shyly. _Yeah, he is. If only he would see it that way, too._ Catching the old lady's crinkly eyes, Tifa muttered, "It's okay", and continued shopping, although she was moving considerably faster than she had been before. Miss Beatrice was kind enough to continue on chattering about nothing as she rang up Tifa's bill, changing the subject expertly. She asked about the kids some more, questioning about how they were doing in school, and Tifa replied politely, keeping the conversation going. She was happy to finally say goodbye and leave the small store, though. It was beginning to feel stifling in there.

The crowded streets didn't feel much better. She made her way through the mass of people in the busy marketplace, grocery bags in hand. Although she could usually slip through people like it was nothing, she found herself bumping into strangers a few times more than she needed to. After a gruff man eyed her maliciously and muttered, "Hey, watch it, lady", Tifa decided to find a place to sit down. The concrete step around the side of the shady-looking pawn shop would do.

She set her bags down and sighed, dropping her head into her hands. _Why do I let such stupid things get to me like this?_ Breathing deeply, she tried to clear her head and adjust her mindset. Today was a good day, right? The kids were being sweet and helpful, and Cloud had said that he was going to make it home early. Early enough to spend time with them. Early enough to spend time with her.

 _All you'll ever get is little bits of his time, though_ , she warned herself.

She shook her head. _So what?_ she countered to her own thoughts. _I'm just glad that I get this time with him. He's too busy and he has too much going on to expect any more._

 _Like marriage?_ she countered back.

 _Marriage? Please..._ Her inner voice scoffed at herself. _That's just... impossible. Hell, at this point, I think dating is impossible for Cloud..._

Tifa was a rational person. She was empathetic, too. She had tried to put herself in Cloud's shoes thousands of times, if not millions. She understood and made sense of his actions most of the time. He was tired. His mental health had gotten... _better_ , but he had never completely healed. He still felt guilty. He still hurt. He still missed Zack and he still missed _her_. He was trying, had been trying for Tifa's sake for years now. He tried living with her. He got even sicker with the Sitgma, he left, and he came back. _He came back._ That's all that really mattered to her now. She couldn't expect him to have feelings for her, not when he had loved another woman, and she had been killed right before his eyes. Not when he had to deal with those nightmares, the lack of sleep, the dark thoughts and the pain. She knew better. Still, she couldn't deny just how much it _hurt_ when other people brought these things up. One stupid little comment about marriage, and here she sat, holding back the stinging tears from falling. She had to be stronger than this. Cloud was being strong for her; she knew he was. She wasn't going to let herself be weak for him.

_We're best friends and nothing more, and that's how it's always going to stay. I should be happy I even have that. He has me and I have him. We have each other and we have a family. I'm lucky to have that. I don't even deserve it, and yet I have it. So why on Gaia am I still so upset over it?_

Her inner thoughts responded gently. _Because you love him._

_...I know._

_But... I can't._

"No, no! Help! Somebody, please!"

Faster than a lightning strike, Tifa's silent conversation with herself ended with the weight of her heart dropping into her stomach. A blood-curdling scream was quickly muffled and cut off. A woman's scream. She jumped up and quickly pulled her gloves out of her pocket and slipped them on, listening again for the sound of the person in danger.

_Damn, where did it come from?_

Her mind had completely forgotten about everything else, and now she was in fight mode. She ran to the end of the alleyway, deeper into the jungle of rusty shops and houses, leaving her groceries behind. Several more alleys split off behind a tall chain-link fence, all darkened by a multitude of structures and overhangs. She took a few steps back and expertly gained enough momentum to hurdle herself up and over the gate. She landed like a cat on the other side, listening intently again for the sound of a skirmish.

_Hurry! Make a decision!_

There were four alleys to choose from, all fanning out from her current location. It sounded like it had come from her right side, so she took the rightmost path and ran as quickly and quietly as she could. She was loud, though.

_Crap._

Another choice to make, two smaller and darker alleys diverging from the end of her path. She wasn't even sure which stores flanked the sides of these alleyways. They were all dark on the inside, and looked like they were possibly abandoned. A left this time, since another right would take her in a circle.

" _Shut the fuck up, bitch! Stop making noise or I'll kill you right here!"_

It was faint, but she heard it. A hushed man's voice, and scuffling. She crouched down low, moving as quickly as she could, but this time much more quietly. Her plan was to sneak up on this scumbag and kick him in the back of the head. He wouldn't even know what hit him.

Suddenly, the man cried out in pain.

"You fucking bitch! You _bit_ me!"

Tifa crept up towards the end of the alley, preparing to round on the attacker. Just a bit closer and she could jump out and attack...

"I told you, _my name isn't Tifa!_ " the woman spat out.

Tifa stopped dead in her tracks, her heart pounding in her chest. _What did she just say?_

"Oh, yeah? Well you sure fucking match the description. Now tell me where Cloud is or I'll slit your pretty little throat!"

"I told you _I don't know who that is!_ Now let me go, please!"

Tifa was frozen to the spot, her head spinning, standing only a few feet away from the two strangers that were hidden behind the corner of the ramshackle building.

_Oh no... They're looking for me... They're looking for Cloud... It's true... What Reno said was true!_

The powerful brunette felt the sense of bravery she possessed wash away and melt into fear. Without even realizing it, she took a slow step back.

_What am I doing? Am I going to run away?_

Another blind step backwards. Time seemed to have halted, and Tifa's body was guiding her further away without her consent. One final, clumsy step backwards caused her to accidentally kick an empty glass bottle, and that was enough to grab the attention of the unknown assailant.

"Who's there?!" the man barked.

"Let go of me!" the victim cried again.

_Damn it! What do I do? Run? Hide? Stay and fight?_

She could hear the woman struggle as the man pulled her along with him, coming closer all too quickly.

_There's no time to think about it!_

"Help me! Help me PLEASE!"

_That woman's life is in danger!_

"Shut the FUCK up!"

_HURRY UP AND MAKE A DECISION!_

Tifa swallowed her fear and emerged slowly from the side of the building, her fists clenched tightly at her sides. "Let that woman go."

The man regarded her for a moment and obliged, releasing the young, brunette woman from his grasp. The victim took off quickly without a word, and disappeared down another dark alley. The man was tall and broad, with a grizzly beard and stringy black hair. He looked like any normal dirtbag you would see around the slums of Midgar. Tifa had seen a thousand of them before.

"So," the man huffed, " _you_ must be Tifa, then."

Tifa shook her head, backing up a step, feeling the fear settle back in. "I'm not Tifa."

"Oh?" the stranger replied. " _You_ match the description." He walked towards the barmaid slowly. She matched each forward step of his with a step back of her own. "Long, brown hair..." he stated casually. "Right age, right height..." Tifa felt her back hit another chainlink fence. " _Huge_ , perky tits..."

"Stay away from me!"

The man silently pulled a long knife from the waistband of his pants and Tifa launched into action. She was fast, too fast for him, and she managed to land a graceful forward sweep on the attacker's shins. He fell down in pain and Tifa took her chance to run.

_Run. Run. Where?_

She could hear him following her already.

_Damn, he's fast, too._

A left at the end of the alleyway. A right at the end of the next path. Each turn was taking her deeper and deeper into the complex of buildings, and he was gaining speed.

_Why are all of these buildings empty?!_

Nobody was around to help her. No one was there to save her. She could tell that she was getting further and further away from the populated area of Edge. She was getting too close to the outskirts of town for comfort.

_There! A broken window!_

Her ticket to escape. With catlike reflexes, she positioned her gloved hand on the remains of the broken glass, and vaulted her body through the window.

"Ahh!" she cried out. The man had snatched her foot.

"I've got you now, you weaselly bitch!"

Tifa kicked her foot hard, but it was to no avail. He pulled her out like a rope, scraping up her stomach with the shards of broken glass on the windowpane. Tifa was panicking, struggling as he pulled her into a sleeper hold and squeezed her neck tightly. It would only take a few seconds for the brunette to lose consciousness.

"Tell me where Cloud is!"

Tifa didn't respond. Complete instinct was taking over her entire thought process. There was no thinking anymore. There was only action. Opportunity. Opportunity in the form of twisting her head in her attacker's arms and pressing upwards with her powerful shoulders. Opportunity in the form of biting down on the man's bicep and eliciting a surprising amount of blood. Opportunity in the form of a strong backwards chop to his groin when he cried out in pain from the bite. He relented, and she wrenched herself out of his hold.

She couldn't believe she had even allowed herself to get caught in a hold like that. Years of intense martial arts training had prepared her for moments tougher than this. She wouldn't let it happen again. She spat the blood of her enemy out of her mouth and stepped back slowly while the assailant regained his composure. She didn't have much time. She would have to be quick. Her feet were sure on the ground, her fists in defensive position in front of her face. She wasn't playing around anymore.

The man rose slowly from his hunched position on the ground, and he eyed Tifa maliciously. "I'm gonna fucking kill you!" he spat.

Tifa was moving now. She was doing some impressive footwork, waiting for the perfect chance to strike. The attacker lunged at her, but she dodged him easily this time. He was almost too slow to hit her, but just fast enough to keep her from striking him, herself. The burly man swiped at her again with his knife, and she dodged and attempted to counter with a punch, but failed. The dance continued as the man attempted to stab Tifa directly in the stomach; she dodged, but just barely. Blood trickled down her side.

"Come on, you little bitch. I'm tired of fucking around with you!"

There was no way she could win the fight like this. She had no materia on her, no armor save for her usual leather garb, and only her regular fighting gloves as a weapon. If she wanted to win, she would have to do something drastic.

_What do I do? What do I do?!_

Her eyes darted around while she still moved cautiously, searching for some kind of a makeshift weapon she could use.

_There, a brick!_

It was lying about ten feet away from her. There's no way she'd be able to dash to it in time without her attacker foreseeing her move.

_Damn, am I really gonna have to do this?_

No choice. Tifa lunged at the man again, and jumped back and to her left as he countered. Closer to that brick. This time she kicked, and spun out of the way of his advance. She was right by it...

"O-Okay! I give up!" she cried. "Just please don't hurt me again!" Tifa fell to her knees, holding her right arm in front of her face as if she were really cowering in fear.

"It's too late for that, bitch," the assailant proclaimed, advancing toward her, knife in hand. "You've already pissed me off."

He was coming closer. Now was her chance. Tifa kicked the man in his groin and he crouched down in pain once again. With one swift motion, she swung her right arm down, knocking the knife out of the attacker's hand, and with her left, she grabbed the brick and smashed it over the man's head. She did it again, and again. He fell to the ground and clutched his head, crying out in pain as blood spurted out from his cranium. Tifa felt a dangerous, familiar burn begin to course throughout her entire body. With one last powerful blow, she performed her signature Final Heaven on the beaten man's jaw. He flew back and crashed into the wall unceremoniously. It was over. She was done.

Tifa leaned forward and planted her hands on her knees, gasping for breath. She was tired. A few years ago, this fight wouldn't have taken so much out of her. But now... She shook her sweaty hair out of her face, still panting heavily. The adrenaline was leaving her body, and the pain was beginning to set in.

_...SHIT. I gotta get out of here..._

But that girl, where had that girl gone? Tifa tried wandering some of the other alleys for a little while, but the girl was nowhere in sight, and the cut on her stomach was starting to bleed more heavily. She needed to go home.

_Damn... The groceries..._

It would be dumb to just leave them behind, right? Bleeding or not, groceries cost money. They weren't too far away. She needed to find her way out of the mess of alleyways anyway. They all looked the same and they were disorienting. She retraced her steps as best she could, only going down the wrong path once before doubling back and finding the right way. She made it back to the large chain link fence that she had hopped over earlier. Gritting her teeth, she jumped and clung to the fence, climbing over more gently this time. It hurt, even with her caution, and she winced in pain when she felt the wound on her stomach rip open further.

_Shit!_

Tifa felt it almost sacrilegious, but she gently untied the pink ribbon that was wrapped around her left bicep and tightly bound it around her waist instead. The bleeding didn't stop, but it definitely slowed down. She hoped that she would be able to wash the blood from Aerith's memorial without ruining it. Thankfully, she saw that her groceries were still on the step that she left them on once she rounded the corner of the alleyway. Well, most of them were there - it looked like the bags had been rifled through a little and a few apples were stolen. Someone probably needed them more than she did. Taking care to keep the grocery bags from getting bloody, she did her best to blend into the crowd and made her way back to the 7th Heaven, safely enough. If anyone had noticed her wounds, no one had said anything.

**•** **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

Tifa was late to opening the bar. The groceries had been dropped on the nearest table as soon as she had unlocked the front door, and she had hurriedly made her way upstairs in search of Cloud's highest-level Cure materia. Blood had dripped onto the wooden floor with every step she took, and the pain from her wounds had really begun to affect her. She found the proper materia situated near the top of the pile of marble-like objects that were housed in an old, wooden trunk, and she healed herself. The large gash on her side began to close up, and the scrapes and bruises on her stomach seemed to melt away as fresh, new cells quickly grew in. Tifa felt a little better, but she was still shaken up. She pushed her thoughts away as best she could as she threw her clothes in the wash, mopped up her trail of blood, and took another fast shower. Her hair was still soaking wet when she felt a bout of queasiness and weakness assault her. She felt sick, and wrapped herself in a towel and made her way to the nearest bed. Cloud's room was the closest, and she desperately needed to lie down, if only for a moment.

_Why am I so weak..?_

The lack of sleep and constant worrying couldn't be affecting her physical health that much, could it? High-leveled materia usually never gave her any side effects in the past, but she couldn't deny how badly she felt after curing herself this time. Maybe she needed to start training again every day. Two years ago, she was stronger. She had noticed the gradual feminine softening of her muscles, noticed the way her previously cut biceps and tight abs had rounded and flattened. She _felt_ less powerful. House chores weren't enough to keep someone in top condition, she supposed.

She rolled over to her side, clutching at Cloud's pillow and breathing in the faint scent of his skin. It was vaguely familiar, swimming somewhere in the back of her mind and eliciting memories of the handful of times that she had been close enough to him to know exactly how his skin smelled. Afterwards, she had only known him through small, timid displays of affection. Feather-soft kisses on her cheek. Gentle, hesitant hugs. Some time after that, even those small touches ended, and Tifa had been left feeling a bit empty and used. When Cloud had gotten sick, she didn't know anything about him anymore. She didn't know the way he smelled, didn't know the way he felt, and didn't know the way he thought. Even after delving into the depths of his psyche, she had lost everything she knew about him. Sometimes she questioned if she ever really had met the "real" Cloud; he'd barely had enough time to show her just who that was.

There was time now, though. Time for him to open back up and show her his true self, if only he could make it through what was troubling him now. Tifa only wished there was something she could do to help him. She felt useless. She had even entertained the thought of suggesting professional help from a psychologist or someone else of the like, but Cloud would never go for that idea. Hell, she wasn't even sure if a professional _could_ help him. How would they understand? How would they possibly be able to relate to the experiences Cloud had gone through?

And now, knowing that _somebody_ was out there looking for Cloud, looking for her to get to him, Tifa truly felt trapped. Only two months ago, the fighter had thought that she had finally seen the light at the end of the dark tunnel. Just when she thought things might be looking up, everything came crashing back down. It was always like this. She wasn't really sure why she kept holding onto hope anymore. Life was doing a pretty good job of squashing her perpetual optimism.

Still, there _was_ some hope left inside of her heart. Maybe it was stupid of her, but she couldn't give up so easily. She had to stay strong, if not for herself, then for her family. For Cloud. She couldn't stop her worrying, but she _could_ stop her pessimistic thoughts. With a small fire building up inside of her, she rose from the mattress and went to gather her clothes out of her room. She was going to go about her business as usual, and a single attacker wasn't going to stop her, worried or not.

Tifa had only just finished getting dressed and drying her hair when a masculine voice yelled "Hello? Anyone here?" from the bottom of the stairs.

_SHIT._

Someone had broken in. Her eyes narrowed dangerously and her heart began pumping adrenaline throughout her body as she crept down the hall quietly. She tiptoed over every creaky board, pulling her gloves on silently as she went. She must have been followed. How many of these people were searching for her? She wasn't sure if she could handle another fight today, but there was no choice. Someone was about to get his ass kicked.

A plan of action - Tifa always had one. She would sneak down the stairs and slip behind the cover of the bar, wait for the man to walk close enough, and land a double front kick as soon as she could. Carefully, she crouched down and pushed her body as close to the wall as possible as she descended down the stairs. She could almost peek her head around the corner to see -

"Jeez, Tifa!" a man exclaimed. "What the hell are you doing? You scared the shit out of me."

The brunette fell backwards onto the step above the one she was currently crouching on. "Oh my GOD, Trent..." she yelped. " _You_ scared the shit out of _me!_ Why are you breaking into my bar?!"

Trent. A loyal customer of hers for a while now. He had been around pretty often recently, sometimes coming in as soon as the bar opened. On some days, he would hang around all afternoon, chatting with Tifa and the other customers that wandered up to the bar as he sipped on Corel wine. Other times, he'd only drop by for dinner or a quick beer and would disappear for a few days. Lately, though, Tifa had seen his face much more frequently.

Trent held a puzzled expression. "The door was cracked open, even though the sign still says 'closed'. Here," he said, offering his hand. Tifa accepted it and stood back up, pulling her gloves off and stashing them back in her pocket. She shook her head. She thought she had not only closed the door, but locked it, as well. That fight must have really messed her up...

"Tifa..." The utterance of her name snapped her attention back to Trent. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah", she nodded. "Yeah, I was just in a hurry on the way home."

Trent studied the barmaid. "No, I mean, most people don't sneak up on other people and act like they're about to attack them." His brow furrowed tightly. "Are you _sure_ you're okay? You don't look so well..."

"Really, I'm fine," Tifa breathed. "I'm just a little uptight right now, and I thought a burglar or someone had broken in. You can never be too sure." Her admittance was a partial truth, at least.

"Well, I'm sorry I scared you," he replied. He flicked a strand of his tawny hair off of his face and looked around the empty bar, scratching his five o'clock shadow. "Mind if I relax here for a bit? Or do you need some time to yourself?"

"No, no, it's okay. I need to go ahead and open anyway. Please," she gestured to the stools at the bar, "make yourself comfortable. I just need to put up some groceries and get dinner started."

"Need any help?" the lanky man offered.

"No, I've got it. Thanks, though." Tifa smiled warmly; it was only a little forced. "Would you like a drink?"

"Sure, I'll take the usual. But, please, take your time. I can wait until you've got everything situated."

"Alright."

Tifa poured him a glass of his preferred wine first, and then flipped the sign on the front of the bar window from 'closed' to 'open'. She grabbed the bags of groceries that had been left the table nearest the door and hurriedly began to put them away, leaving out the ones she needed to make dinner. That's right, tonight she was making Cloud's favorite: pot roast and potatoes.

"How's business going?" Tifa called behind the little cutout window over the kitchen counter. She could just barely see Trent through it.

"Pretty good, actually," he replied. "They've been working the hell out of me though, and I can never plan out my schedule. But, I might be getting some slack here soon, so you might see me around more often. I'm off all day today."

Tifa kept up with the conversation as she went about cooking dinner. As Trent rambled on about his plumbing work, his coworkers, and his customers, she was back to being busy, and slowly, the anxious thoughts began to melt away from her mind. They were still there, waiting in the back of her consciousness, but now she could focus on cooking, and speaking with her customer. She was glad Trent had come in so early. She truly needed the distraction. Still, she couldn't completely push her conflicting feelings away. She kept seeing her attacker's face in her mind as she chopped up the carrots, and she felt a surge of excitement as she lovingly peeled the potatoes, remembering that Cloud would be coming home early.

_Cloud..._

She wondered if she should tell Cloud about the attack... But it would only worry him, wouldn't it? Worrying was her job, not his. She really didn't want to bring down what could be a pleasant evening together, either. Those types of evenings hardly happened anymore. It had been a long time since they had even eaten dinner together as a family.

There was little room left for thought and contemplation as the noon influx of customers streamed into the bar. Tifa's friendly conversation with Trent had come to a halt as she took orders and waited tables swiftly. Lunch was pork-roast stew, made with the leftover ingredients from her own personal pot roast that was currently slow-cooking in the oven. The draft beer taps were drying up; she would have to brew more in the garage soon. She also noticed that she was running low on juices for the kids. She would have to blend more before they all got out of school this afternoon.

Tifa was certainly being kept busy. Over the lull of the crowd, most of whom were now happily eating and drinking, she heard the bar's phone ring. She had a spare moment to answer it, so she slipped past the back of the bar, offering a friendly smile to Trent as she passed, and picked it up.

"Strife Delivery Service. You name it, we deliver it."

"Hello," a woman's voice responded. "Is a Miss Tifa Lockhart available?"

"Yes," Tifa replied, her eyebrows rising in slight surprise. "This is she."

"Hello Miss Lockhart. This is Karen Yancy, the student counselor at Edge Elementary School, speaking. I'm calling you today because you were listed as the emergency contact for Marlene Wallace and Denzel Madison."

Tifa's heart dropped in her stomach. _Oh no..._

"I-Is everything okay?"

"Well, not quite," the woman stated. "Marlene and Denzel got into a fight at school today, and Marlene has a black eye."

"Oh no..." was all Tifa could manage to say.

"Marlene is doing okay now, she's currently in the nurse's office, but you're going to have to come pick your children up. They're suspended for the rest of the day."

Tifa was silent for a moment. A _fight?_ Really? It seemed so unlike them. They were good kids. "Ma'am?" the voice prompted from the other line.

"Yes, I'll be there shortly," Tifa uttered. "Thank you."

With that, she clicked the phone off and set it back down on the bar counter, pressing her palm into her forehead and shaking her head softly.

"Tifa? Everything okay?" Trent asked from the end of the bar.

The brunette sighed, walking closer to the bar patron. "No. The kids got into a fight at school earlier. I have to go pick them up." She shook her head again. "I'm going to have to close the bar for an hour or so."

Trent frowned. "Marlene and Denzel got into a fight? That doesn't sound like them at all."

"I know," Tifa said, biting her lip.

"Well, hey..." Trent started. "If you want, I could run the bar while you pick them up. That way you don't have to close it, I mean." He looked around at the customers that were slowly beginning to filter out after the lunch hour rush. "It gets a little slower about this time, right? I'll just log down all the money that comes in and out of the cash register while you're gone. I think I know this place well enough to serve everyone."

"Um..." the barmaid stalled, thinking it over. It would be nice to keep the bar open, since she would lose business being closed for even an hour. Trent had been around her for a while now... He was a good, hardworking, normal guy. She decided she could trust him. If he screwed her over, she would kick his ass. "Yeah... okay," she said slowly. "I would really appreciate that, Trent. I promise I'll come back as soon as I can."

"Take as much time as you need, Tifa," the man offered as he stood and switched places with her behind the bar. "I'll take care of everything while you're gone."

"Thank you so much. I'll be back in a flash."

"See you soon." He waved as Tifa made her way out the front door of the 7th Heaven.

**•** **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

"Alright, ma'am, I'll need you to sign here, and here, and initial here as well," a bespectacled old woman instructed, tapping her pen on the blank lines on the paperwork. Tifa did as she was told, sliding the paper back wordlessly to the woman. "Okay, you're free to take them home. Their suspension will be over next Monday, so they can return to school then."

"Thank you," Tifa said, turning to the two silent children sitting in hard plastic chairs behind her. "Alright you two. Let's go."

Their trip back to the 7th Heaven was quiet and uncomfortable. Tifa wasn't entirely sure what had caused Marlene and Denzel to get into a fight. All she knew was what the student counselor had told her, and that was that Marlene had slapped a boy who had been teasing her, and the boy had responded by punching her in the face. Denzel had jumped on the boy's back, engaging in the fight as well. The student counselor had added, with a rather sad expression, that Tifa should ask Marlene what she was being teased about when they all got home.

Tifa kept her eyes peeled open for any suspicious-looking people as they made their way through Edge, but thankfully, she didn't see anyone who looked particularly dangerous. They arrived back at the bar quickly enough; Tifa had only been gone for just over an hour. "Go upstairs to your room," the barmaid instructed as they stepped inside, "and I'll be up to talk with both of you in a minute." The kids obliged, quietly muttering "yes ma'am", but otherwise silent. Tifa was sure that they knew they would be receiving a hearty lecture soon.

"Hey, welcome back," Trent called from behind the bar. "A couple of people bought a few beers, and one couple came in for lunch. I wrote it all down on the tab here." He tapped his fingers on a slip of paper. "Are the kids okay?" he added.

"Mm, they're alright," Tifa responded. "Marlene's got a black eye, and they're both about to be in _huge_ trouble, but other than that, they're fine."

Trent laughed politely. "Well, I'll stay behind the bar while you go tend to them. We'll switch back when you're done."

"Thank you so much, Trent. I really appreciate all your help," Tifa said.

"Don't mention it."

With that, Tifa went upstairs and began to rummage through the medicine cabinet above the bathroom sink. After a minute, she found the pain-relieving ointment she was looking for, and then she went to Cloud's room to search through his materia chest once again. She couldn't use the same high-level Cure materia that she had used on herself earlier - it would be far too much for Marlene's little body to handle. She had to dig all the way to the bottom of the chest, but she eventually found a low-level materia that she could use. She closed the chest and turned to exit the room, but paused.

_Maybe I should tell Cloud what happened..._

Well, maybe not about her attack. But he needed to know about Marlene and Denzel... There would be no hiding what happened, and Tifa felt that Cloud needed to be included in this matter, anyway. If they really were a family...

She pulled out her phone and started typing out a text message: _Marlene and Denzel got in a fight at school today. They got sent home. Not sure what happened yet. About to give them a good talking-to._

It felt strange to text Cloud. It was something that she hadn't done in a long time, and in the past, he would never respond. She stuffed the phone back in her pocket, and walked into the kids' room without knocking, materia and ointment in her hands.

"Alright, first thing's first," she said. "Marlene, let me see your eye."

Marlene and Denzel were sitting silently on their beds. The little girl allowed Tifa to gently begin applying ointment to her eye, wincing as she did.

"Okay, this might feel a little funny, but it will help you heal faster," Tifa explained as she used the materia to Cure Marlene. The brunette watched as the heavy bruising and swelling began to vanish. Marlene was left with a rather nasty-looking yellowish bruise, some dark purple still tingeing the edges. "Does it feel better?" she asked. Marlene nodded, still silent. Tifa turned to Denzel. "Are you hurt, too?" He shook his head 'no', silent as well. "Well, alright then. You two sure aren't saying very much, so I guess you both already know that you're in big trouble."

"It wasn't fair! That boy deserved it!" Marlene cried abruptly.

Tifa placed her hands on her hips, taking a very motherly stance. "I'm sure whatever that boy did wasn't enough to start a fight over! You two are _good_ kids, and honestly, I'm surprised, and I'm _extremely_ disappointed in both of you."

"But Tifa!-"

"'But Tifa' nothing. You _know_ better, Marlene. How do you think Barrett is going to feel when I tell him what you did?"

The small girl looked up at Tifa with large, tear-filled eyes, and she began to cry.

"Tifa..." Denzel's voice was small and timid. "That boy said some really mean things to Marlene."

Tifa sighed. "Okay. Marlene, tell me exactly what happened."

Marlene tried to talk through her blubbering tears. "S-Somebody asked me who my parents were, and I told them that you're my mom, and I said that I have t-two dads." Tifa's shoulders fell slightly, her stance becoming less intimidating. "I-I told them that Papa and C-Cloud were my dads, and that Tifa was my mom, since my real parents died and couldn't take care of me." She swiped at her eyes, trying uselessly to wipe away her tears. "T-that boy came up and started bullying me. H-he said that I didn't have any real parents and that nobody loves me."

Tifa frowned and leaned down to place her hands on Marlene's shoulders, completely losing her authoritative demeanor. "Oh, sweetie..." she cooed. "You know that's not true. You know that we love you."

"He just kept going and going, and I told him to shut up like twenty times," she sniffed. "I g-got so angry that I slapped him in his big, ugly face. Then he punched me, and Denzel jumped on his back."

Tifa's frown deepened. "Marlene..." The little girl looked at her, still crying. "We all love you _very_ much. And we love Denzel, too." She looked to the young boy, who was looking anywhere but at the two of them. "Some people are bullies, and they want to say mean things to hurt you, but you have to ignore them. Especially when you know that what they're saying isn't true. And you _can't_ respond with violence. Words hurt, but those problems can always be solved without slapping or punching in return." Tifa hugged Marlene tightly, and she hugged her back.

"Now," Tifa said, rising to a standing position. "I want you two to just take some time to cool off, and then I'll come back and check on you in a little bit, and you'll get started on your homework. You're both still in trouble, and you're grounded until tonight. You're going to spend all weekend helping me do chores, too. Understood?" Marlene sniffed, nodding, and Denzel quietly said "yes" when Tifa turned to look at him. "Good. I'll be back up soon to check on both of you." Tifa leaned down and placed a kiss on Marlene's forehead. "I love you, Marlene," she added. She turned to the little boy who was still avoiding looking at her, and she kissed his forehead, too. "I love you too, Denzel." He didn't say anything in return, and Marlene only continued to sniffle. Tifa frowned, holding back tears that were beginning to well up in her eyes, and she left the room, shutting the door behind her gently. She felt like a thousand-pound weight had been tied to her heart, and she wiped a few tears from her face, leaning against the hallway wall and taking in a long, shaky breath. Only then did she feel a quick vibration in her pocket. She reached for her phone and read the only text message that Cloud had ever sent her: _I'm so sorry to hear that. I'll be home as soon as possible. Please be safe._


	5. Trepidation

Cloud left the 7th Heaven with a smile on his face, even though anxiety had wormed its way into his heart. Though he was no stranger to the blended cocktail of emotions he was currently experiencing, he had never before been in such confusing, drunken stupor. For a moment too short, he was content with riding the waves of happiness that Tifa, Marlene, and Denzel had given him. It didn't take long, though, for him to come crashing back on the shore in nearly a panic as he recalled the words Reno had said to him the day before. It was early, probably too early, but the only remedy to quell his quickly racing thoughts would be a conversation with a certain ex-Shinra employee.

A few button presses, a few rings, and a few moments later, a familiar, serious tone was speaking at the other end of the line.

"Hello, Cloud. It's good to hear from you." The swordsman was only slightly surprised that Reeve knew exactly who was calling him.

"Reeve... I was wondering if I could talk with you."

"Sure," came the response from the other end of the line. "I'll send Cait Sith to come meet with you."

The outline of Midgar was already beginning to come into view. "No... I'd rather talk in person. If you don't mind."

A pause."...Okay. Meet me at 3:00. I'll clear out my afternoon schedule."

"Sounds great. I'll see you then."

Perfect timing. A few deliveries beforehand, and he'd be done with his workload for the day. He just needed to calm his fear and subdue his anger while he waited he waited to speak with Reeve. Something was twisting in the pit of his stomach, but he was sure that the head of the WRO could, at the very least, give him some clarity about Reno's warning. Maybe, in turn, he would feel a little better about everything. Maybe.

Cloud went through his regular routine without too many issues. Most of his deliveries were supplies for rebuilding old shops and shabby homes around the dilapidated ruins of the city, despite the fact that the Mako-drenched streets were largely uninhabitable. Though a large segment of the population had migrated to Edge, there were still thousands people living in the city ruins that either refused to relocate, or simply couldn't afford to. The people Cloud greeted were depressing. They looked sick, and aged far beyond their years. They chain-smoked cigarettes, but not in the comfortable, earthy way that Cid did. Cloud almost never greeted customers with a smile on his face, but today, he scowled even harder, and he found that his customers were scowling back at him.

After several tedious hours, he was thankful to finish his work, and he sped out of Midgar and towards the WRO headquarters as quickly as he could. The large building was situated by itself, close to Junon but still several miles away. The ride was long, and Cloud had to kick off a few wild dogs on the way, but he finally made it after what felt like an eternity. His stomach was trembling nervously as he parked Fenrir and walked purposefully through the large front doors of the building.

"Oh my god, it's Cloud Strife!"

The swordsman was taken aback as a short woman flitted out from behind the front desk and came over to him. "Wow, it's really you! I never thought I'd get to meet you in person!"

Cloud blinked. "U-Um..."

"Whoa, hey, it really is him!"

"Wow!"

The receptionist had caused quite a commotion, and before Cloud knew what was happening, he was surrounded by a small crowd of people that were attempting to shake his hand.

"Is you true that you killed the legendary Sephiroth _twice?_ " a man asked.

"How did you become strong enough to save the Planet from Meteorfall?" a different person asked.

"I heard that he did the whole thing while riding a chocobo!" the short woman declared.

"I... What?" Cloud shook his head, confused and embarrassed by the whole situation. "Please... I'm just here to meet with Reeve..."

"Oh, of course, of course!" the receptionist nodded her head, raising her voice over the lull of the crowd. "Everybody give him some space, now! He's on official business!" She turned back to him and smiled politely. "Please follow me, Mr. Strife." He followed the woman gratefully, his enhanced sense of hearing picking up all the hushed whispers of praise that the crowd was still mumbling behind him.

"Sorry for the crowd back there," the woman said. "You're a pretty popular subject around here. What with being the Savior of the Planet and all."

_Savior of the Planet?..._

Cloud didn't know what to say. He felt incredibly uncomfortable, and he didn't feel like talking. The woman, however, apparently _did_ want to talk, and she filled in the silence. "Yuffie's told me all about you! I can't believe some of the crazy things you've done!"

Cloud's eyes narrowed. "Oh, so you're friends with Yuffie?" He growled the question out a little harsher than he had intended to.

They got on an elevator, and the woman pressed the button for the top floor. "Yeah, she just adores you. Says you're one of her best friends. She loves talking about all the misadventures you've been in!"

"What... _misadventures_... has she told you about?" He tried to make the question sound like friendly conversation, but he wasn't sure if his tone had agreed with his intentions.

The woman didn't seem to mind. "Well, one of my favorite stories is about the little girl and the dolphin! How you saved that girl's life by giving her CPR, and then you rode a dolphin to the top of an electrical tower. That's just so cool."

"Oh... Yeah..." He _did_ actually do that. Huh.

"Or that time you dressed up as a girl to save the woman you loved? Yuffie says she wasn't there for that, but she knows all about it because her friend Tifa told her. That's the girl you're in love with, right? And you really saved her from some sleazebag?"

Crimson color spread up Cloud's cheeks like wildfire. He didn't say anything.

"Oh, that's so romantic..." the woman cooed. "And you even went so far as to make out with the guy to distract him, so that Tifa could escape."

"Wh-What?!" Cloud stammered, his entire face heating up red-hot now. "That's not what happened!"

"Oh, it's not?" the receptionist replied. She seemed disappointed. The elevator dinged and Cloud wasted no time in hurrying out of it.

"It's just the door on the far left of the hall, Mr. Strife!" the lady called after him.

"Thanks," was his curt reply. _God damnit, Yuffie._ He took a deep breath, shaking all of the confusing thoughts from his head and steadying himself before knocking on the very plain-looking steel door. After a moment, it swung open, and Cloud was greeted with a warm smile and a firm handshake from Reeve.

"Cloud, please come in." The older man shut the door behind him and motioned to the leather-upholstered chair in front of his desk. Cloud took a seat.

"Sorry, I didn't think to warn you, but you've got a little fan club down there." He took a seat himself.

"Yeah, I noticed," Cloud replied dryly.

Reeve smiled, obviously finding the whole thing a little bit humorous. "Well, Cloud, I know you're not one for pleasantries, so let's cut to the chase. What did you want to talk about?"

Cloud was quiet for a moment, focusing his thoughts and choosing his words before speaking. "One of the Turks, Reno, did something really strange yesterday. He called me and told me that he had an assignment for me, and asked me to meet up with him. I met him at a restaurant in Junon, and he told me there was no assignment, but he... _warned_ me about something."

Reeve's face fell, and he sighed deeply. "He told you about the rumors, didn't he?"

Cloud blinked. "Yeah, he did. So you know about them too?"

"Well of course I do, Cloud. I'm the head of the WRO. I hear every rumor that comes through these front doors." He leaned back, folding his hands in his lap. "I didn't expect anyone to run off and tell _you_ about it, though."

"Well, why the hell not?" Cloud spoke a little more harshly than he meant to, but he didn't understand. If Reeve knew about this, why didn't he tell him? Why did he have to hear it from _Reno_ , of all people? "Are you trying to keep me in the dark?"

"No, no, it's not that..." He sighed again, pinching the bridge of his nose. "They're just _rumors_ , Cloud. I didn't pin you as the type of person who would want to hear about something that may not even be true."

He guessed he was right about that - he had spent a large portion of the previous day writing off everything Reno had said. But now, he wanted to know, even if it _was_ all just hearsay. He didn't understand. It couldn't hurt to at least keep him in the loop about things, could it? And why did Reno deem it so important to tell him, but Reeve somehow didn't? What about Yuffie? Did _she_ know, too?

"Reeve... What exactly _are_ the rumors?"

He cocked his head. "What do you mean, Cloud? I thought Reno already told you."

"He told me to protect myself and my family..." Cloud eyed Reeve suspiciously. Something wasn't right. "Why would he tell me that, Reeve?"

Reeve sighed once more, dropping his head, and then looking back up with serious eyes. "They're looking for you."

Cloud just stared at him. "What?"

"They're looking for you, Cloud. I don't know who they are, and I don't know what they want, but they're looking for you. We've had some reports come in, from various anonymous sources, that people have been popping up in Midgar and asking about where you are." Reeve stood up, folding his hands behind his back and pacing towards his office window. "...Some people have gotten hurt. People with your height and build, and with blonde hair." Reeve stopped in front of the window, staring out at the empty landscape beneath them. He hesitated before speaking again. "...They've also been asking for Tifa. Attacking women with her physical features as well. I... I gave orders to the entire WRO not to tell you until we had more information."

_So Reno was telling the truth... And Reeve was... Hiding it?!_

"Reeve... I don't understand..." Cloud stood up too, feeling hot-blooded anger begin to boil through his veins. "You're telling me that there are actually people out there _right now_ , who are not only looking to attack me, but are looking to hurt Tifa, too? And you instructed everyone _not_ to tell me?..."

Reeve sighed again. "Yes, Cloud, that's right." The older man turned to face him. "I didn't want to bother you. We've got everything under control, and I know you've got a lot on your plate right now-"

"You don't know a damn thing about what's on my plate, Reeve."

The head of the WRO looked a little hurt. "Cloud-"

"We fought together." Reeve blinked, his face falling further, causing him to look considerably older and more weathered than usual. "We fought to save the Planet from Sephiroth together. I thought we were friends." Cloud turned his back to the man, feeling betrayed. "Now I'm wondering if I can even trust you."

"Cloud, please, if you'll let me explain-"

"I've heard enough."

With that, Cloud strode out of Reeve's office, slamming the door behind him. He fumed in the elevator ride down, and he ignored the group of people in the lobby as they asked to shake his hand once more before he left. He heard one of them whisper, very quietly, "He wasn't this angry-looking when he got here, was he?" Another one whispered, "I don't know, I heard he was a moody guy. I guess sometimes heroes aren't nice people." The large front doors swung closed and the fervent whispering was hushed. Those people didn't know a damn thing about him, and yet they still called him a 'hero'. They didn't even know that he could hear them whispering about him.

Cloud revved up Fenrir and sped off into the empty plains, pressing his luck by approaching the motorcycle's top speed. For a terrifying moment, he could hear the call of the void, and he thought he wouldn't mind if he crashed on his beloved motorcycle and died. He shook the dark thought out as quickly as it had entered, though. Anger was clouding his vision, and he just wanted to make sense of everything, even though it seemed impossible.

He spent the next hour or so thinking over everything as he sped back towards Edge, his thoughts making circles in his head and ending up at nowhere in particular. Reno. Reeve. Tifa. Reno. Reeve. Tifa. They circled over and over endlessly, and he came up with hardly any answers or solutions to his problems, but a lot of anger, fear, and trepidation, instead.

After the eternity of repeating thoughts, he _did_ finally make a connection: none of this could be a 'rumor' if actual reports were coming into the WRO. Reeve had confirmed that. So why did he and Reno even say they were rumors? Was Reeve trying to hide everything from Reno? Was he trying to hide it from the entire WRO as well? Nothing was adding up, and Cloud thought he might go crazy if he tried to make any more sense of it.

_What the...?_

Out of nowhere, a sharp pain stung in Cloud's shoulder. He touched the muscle with one hand, keeping the other steady on Fenrir's handlebars, and looked at his fingertips only to see blood painting them. He grimaced and turned hard, drifting in a half-circle. Far off in the distance, he saw his target approaching: a large, armored vehicle, followed by another, and another. They were plainly colored, with no defining symbols, but with his acute vision he could now see that bullets were flying out of them. How did they find him so quickly? Had they followed him from Midgar?

_It's time already._

He pulled the largest of his Fusion Swords out of its holster, holding it in front of him as a shield, a sped forward towards the Humvees. Bullets clinked off of his weapon as if they were nothing. The vehicles were picking up speed as well, heading straight for Cloud. He hunkered down, shielding his face, and zipped around the left side of the trucks. His bike was much faster than the heavy buggies, and he thrust his sword into the armored shell of the first truck, slicing through the metal cleanly. Blood dripped off of his weapon when he removed it, and he zipped back around the other side, ignoring the onslaught of bullets that were being fired at him. He repeated the move again, feeling his blade hit a mixture of metal and bloodied corpses, and then he swiftly slashed the tires on the right side of the truck. It came to a screeching halt, and the other two trucks stopped moving and released about twenty men from the back of each vehicle. Some of them stayed further back, still firing their guns, but half of them charged at Cloud with assorted weaponry. A few tried to cast elemental spells at the swordsman, but he dodged their areas of effect easily. The rest of the battle was relatively effortless, despite being a bloody mess. He fought dual-handed on his motorcycle for some time, only receiving a few scrapes and scratches in return to his devastating blows. The last man standing was unceremoniously dragged by Cloud's blade for a moment, and he came to a stop, dismounting Fenrir and kicking the corpse off of his sword.

He trudged back to the now-empty vehicles, searching inside for anything that might be a clue to understanding who these people were. He found nothing. No paperwork, no IDs, no cell phones... Nothing. Just empty trucks, save for extra ammunition boxes. He dumped out the bullets just in case, checking to see if anything had been written on the boxes, or if anything was hidden inside. Nothing.

Cloud sighed, throwing an empty carton down angrily and walking purposefully back to his motorcycle. It was getting late. Just as he threw his leg over the seat and revved up the engine, he felt his pocket vibrate. He attempted to wipe his hand off on a slightly-cleaner part of his pants, but his effort was fruitless. He pulled the phone out, staining it red with blood, and saw that Tifa had sent him a text message.

_Tifa..._

What was he going to do? Was he going to tell her about this? About Reeve? Did he need to warn her to be careful? She didn't need to worry anymore than she already was, did she? The questions danced in his mind, and he scoffed at himself when he realized how hypocritical it would be of him to keep something like this from Tifa. Trying to keep her in the dark just like Reeve was trying to do from him. He would tell her, he decided. Just... Not right now. Maybe when he got home.

_Home..._

Cloud did his best to keep from dirtying up his screen as he clicked to the text message Tifa had sent him and read it. He read it again, and then he read it once more, his frown deepening each time.

 _'I'm so sorry to hear that. I'll be home as soon as possible. Please be safe.'_ was his reply.

Yeah. He needed to go home.

**•** **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

Cloud didn't make it back to the 7th Heaven until almost 8:30. Much later than he had anticipated. He parked Fenrir out back, and examined his clothes as he dismounted. They were covered in blood and dirt, and they were ripped and torn in places. Cloud could smell the putrid stench of sweat and blood mingled together on his form, though he was so used to the aroma by now that it didn't faze him anymore. That didn't mean he liked it, though. Cloud opened the front door of the bar, unlocked, for once, since customers were still inside. It had been a long time since he'd been home to see the bar like this.

His eyes fell on Tifa immediately. She had her back turned to him, refilling a drink for a patron seated with a small group of people. He also noticed a man who looked vaguely familiar seated at the bar, on the far end... Where he would usually sit. The man was looking at him curiously, but he tried to play it off when Cloud locked eyes with him.

"Cloud!" Tifa had realized that he was home, and rushed over to him. "Oh my god... Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine..." he brushed her off.

"Cloud, you're not fine... You look terrible. Come sit at the bar and I'll get you a drink and something to eat."

"Tifa, I'm okay. Look, um..." The man was still watching him, along with several other bar patrons, now. His appearance wasn't exactly what you'd call 'normal' at the moment. "I'm gonna go take a shower first, and then I'll come back down and talk to you, okay?"

Tifa nodded her head. "Yeah, okay."

Cloud went to move, but halted in his tracks. "Oh, uh... Where are Marlene and Denzel?"

A strange look crossed Tifa's face for a split second before she regained her composure. "They're in their room, grounded. But... come back down and talk to me before you go see them, okay?" Her expression still didn't look right. Whatever she was feeling, she was trying her best to mask it.

"...Alright," Cloud replied simply. He trudged up the stairs, dismounting his sword and his holsters in a pile in his room. He wanted to flop down on his bed for a minute, but he was covered in filth. Tifa would have his head.

He made his way to the shower instead, and didn't even bother to take his clothes off as he stepped into the cool water - he only removed his boots. It felt good, and he finally peeled off the blood-drenched clothes as the water began to heat up. At least leather was easy to clean.

Cloud's mind was spinning. There were just too many thoughts and feelings assaulting him all at once. First Reeve... And then Denzel and Marlene getting into a fight... the attack, that he honestly hadn't expected to happen so soon... and Tifa...

Tifa... What was he going to do? There was so much to talk about, so much to say, but he wasn't even sure how to say it. More than anything, he wanted to tell her the truth. He wanted to tell her everything. But, he didn't want to make her worry anymore. He could see the effect it was having on her. She wasn't her usual perky, cheery self anymore. He didn't like that. But... He would be a hypocrite, if he hid anything from her. Wouldn't he?

Cloud didn't mean to stay in the shower as long as he did. He was supposed to have come home early enough to have dinner with everyone, and now, it was getting close to 9:30, and he hadn't even seen the kids. The time had slipped by as the warm water progressively got colder, and even when it had turned ice cold, Cloud stayed under the tap, consumed by his thoughts. If only the water could wash them away.

He finally stepped out, quickly drying off his wet-slicked hair back into its usual fluffy spikes, and dressed in fresh clothes. He hung up his leather to dry, threw the cotton underclothes into the washer, and left his boots to be cleaned later. For a second, he caught his reflection in the mirror, but he ignored it. Cloud had found, a long time ago, that he didn't like to look at himself.

He found Tifa behind the bar, chatting with that familiar-looking guy, when he returned. There were only four other customers left in the bar, all sitting together at a table near the front door.

"Feeling better?" she smiled at him warmly.

"A little bit."

"Here, sit down and I'll bring you dinner."

Cloud slid into the barstool a few seats down from where the man was sitting. It felt a little strange sitting there, since he usually only sat at the far end, by himself.

_Guess I've been gone so long, some other guy has taken my place at the bar._

Cloud frowned, deeply saddened by that thought, but he tried to brush it off as Tifa returned with a beer and a plate of food.

"I made your favorite. It might be a little dry, since I had to reheat it, but-"

"It's okay, Tifa," he cut her off. "Thank you. It looks delicious." It really did. Tifa smiled again and went back into the kitchen. Cloud's frown deepened even as he ate his meal. It really was good, and he was starving, but he was supposed to have come home to eat with Tifa and the kids. Like a real family. He hadn't made it in time, and now, he had to eat with this guy sitting at the bar, who looked like he was about to try and make conversation. To Cloud's dismay, he was right.

"So, uh... You're Cloud, right?"

"Yep." Did he really have to talk to this guy?

"Well, I'm Trent. I've seen you around a few times, but I don't know if we've formally met." He extended his hand and smiled. Cloud took it and gave him a firm handshake, and then went back to silently eating his meal as the man rambled on. "Tifa talks about you a lot. Well, sometimes she does, other times she doesn't. But, either way, I've heard a lot about you. I feel like I know you so well, even though we've never met!" Trent laughed heartily, and Cloud said nothing. "So, uh... You run a delivery service, right? Strife Delivery Service?"

Cloud paused his chewing. "Yeah, that's right."

"Do you enjoy your work?"

Cloud was already sick of the small talk, but he guessed there was no reason to be indecent. "It pays the bills," he stated simply. He used to enjoy his work... But now...

"Well, it must be exciting. I don't think I've ever seen a delivery boy come home covered in so much blood."

Cloud narrowed his eyes slightly. _Delivery boy..._ Hm.

"I travel across dangerous areas to deliver goods that other people can't deliver. There are lots of monsters out there." It didn't matter that a monster hadn't attacked him. That was none of his concern.

Trent nodded, smiling. "Sounds really important."

Cloud wasn't sure why, but he didn't like the vibe he was getting from this guy. He couldn't tell if he was being genuine or a little bit sarcastic.

"Guess so," he stated flatly. Neither man said anything for a moment; Cloud wasn't about to strike up any more conversation. Trent, on the other hand, apparently still wanted to talk.

"Well, I work at a plumbing business," he continued. "It started out pretty small, but it's grown to be the biggest plumbing company in Edge."

"Oh?" Cloud's tone was obviously disinterested.

"Yeah, it's hard work sometimes, but it pays pretty good money. I also get a lot of off days, even thought my schedule is usually sort of hard to predict. Whenever I have a day off, I come into this bar for some good drinks and conversation. Tifa and I have become pretty good friends, so it surprises me that I haven't seen you around here until now. I come in at least once a week."

Cloud was beginning to bend his fork from squeezing it too hard without realizing it. "I make deliveries all over the Planet, so it takes a long time. I'm usually home late. This is the first chance I've gotten to come home this early."

_...Is it really the first chance I've had, though?_

Cloud ate faster, desperate to finish his meal so that he could finish this conversation as well. This guy was really getting under his skin, but he wasn't even sure why. He couldn't even eat Tifa's delicious cooking in peace, and he was beginning to feel his blood boil up and pulse through his veins again. This whole day had just pissed him off.

"Well, your job really does sound exciting. Maybe you could tell me some stories about it sometime?"

Cloud didn't look up from his plate. "...Sure."

Trent flashed a toothy grin. "Awesome!" He was finally quiet for a short moment, and he seemed to become lost in thought. Cloud was thankful, until the lanky man opened his mouth again. "Um, Cloud?..." Trent lowered his voice. "Since you're here, I've been meaning to ask..." Cloud finished his last bite. "Are you and Tifa...?" He let the question hang in the air, and the blonde's eyes flashed dangerously. After he said nothing, Trent continued, "You know... Are you two... like... dating? Or anything?"

Cloud gulped down some of his beer, resisting the urge to ball his other hand in a fist. "We're just friends," he stated flatly, and he got up to take his dishes into the kitchen, but Tifa appeared from the doorway just as he rose from his seat.

"Oh, Cloud, I've got that." She smiled warmly at him, taking his dishes out of his hands, but he didn't smile in return. "Cloud?"

A petrifying silence hung in the air for just a moment's time, before Trent awkwardly cleared his throat. "Well, guys, it's about time for me to head home. Uh," he extended his hand towards Cloud again, "it was good to finally meet you, Cloud. I look forward to hearing some of your stories sometime!" He smiled at him, and Cloud grasped his hand, shaking it briskly, though he stared daggers at the man. "Tifa, I'll see you sometime soon. You and the kids take care!" he called as he made his way toward the front of the restaurant.

"Bye, Trent!" Tifa called back. The remaining customers lined up to pay their bill, and Cloud slipped into the kitchen, silently taking the dishes back from Tifa on his way - she made a little "oh" sound when he did. He had started washing the remaining pots and pans that Tifa hadn't gotten to yet by the time she walked into the kitchen as well, the last of the customers gone.

He felt her hand touch his arm gingerly. "Cloud?..." Her tone was questioning. "Is everything okay?"

Cloud stopped his washing and looked at Tifa, his eyes falling all over her entire form, her pretty eyes and her cute face, her shapely body that any warm-blooded man would find attractive. His vision swept across her stomach and his narrowed eyes widened as he noticed a large, but faint scar gashed across her side. The hem of her leather shirt was torn, too. He nodded to her stomach. "What happened?"

"What?" she replied, looking confused and a bit self-conscious.

"That's a big scar."

"Oh..." she looked down, avoiding his gaze. "...I was standing on a bar stool today, and I fell off and hurt myself."

Cloud eyed her cautiously. "Is that really what happened?"

Tifa faltered under his gaze and sighed. "No... I was sort of hoping you wouldn't notice..."

"You got attacked today too, didn't you?"

"...Yeah."

"And you knew that I got attacked, as well."

She seemed hesitant to speak. "...Yeah. I knew as soon as I saw you. You haven't been that bloodied up in a while."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why didn't _you_ tell _me_?" she retorted.

"...I was going to. I think." Tifa crossed her arms, looking very displeased. "I just didn't want to make you worry."

The brunette signed again. "Yeah, well..." Tifa walked around him, nudging him with her shoulder and taking his place over the sink. She picked up the pan he had been scrubbing and went to work. "That's the same reason I was afraid to tell you. I knew you'd think about it all day, and I already figured that you'd be upset to hear about Denzel and Marlene..."

"But I want to know, Tifa. I _need_ to know if you get hurt." He leaned on the counter, facing towards the barmaid and crossing his arms. He felt his irritation dissipating and being replaced by pure concern, and a softness that he didn't quite understand. "Don't you know that?" he murmured. Tifa didn't respond, but he noticed her cheeks flushing a pale shade of pink. "Reeve..." he started, after a moment's silence. "I went to see Reeve today. I wanted to ask him about what Reno told me..."

"What did he say?" Tifa inquired, glancing at Cloud.

"He..." The swordsman felt the hot anger bubble up from the pit of his stomach again. "He told me everything that Reno told me. And he told me that people who look like us - both of us," he added, "- were getting hurt in Midgar. He said he didn't know why, and he said he didn't know who was looking for us - for me - but..." Cloud clenched his fist, popping his knuckles, and Tifa looked at him warily. "He instructed the entire WRO not to tell me. Not until they had 'more information'. Supposedly, I guess, for my own benefit..."

Tifa set the pan and the scrub brush down. "Cloud..."

"I don't know why everybody is trying to protect me all of a sudden," he said, his brow furrowing and his lips forming a tight frown. "But I can take care of myself. And I know I'm not around much, but... I need to know when you're in trouble, Tifa. Because if something ever happened to you..." He trailed off. The conversation was becoming too difficult, and his words failed him. He dropped his head, turning away from the brunette.

"You're right, Cloud..." she said quietly. Cloud didn't respond. "I keep saying that I want us to be a real family. And I've said before that I didn't want any more secrets between us. I guess if I really want that, then I can't hide things like this from you..."

"...I just want to know if you're in trouble. That's all."

Tifa looked at him, her expression hard to read. "You want to know if I'm in trouble... so that you can come and rescue me?"

"...That's right," he murmured. Just like he promised. "Marlene and Denzel, too..."

Tifa looked away again, and she began to fiddle with her Fenrir ring. "About them..." She paced away from the sink, and turned back around, going nowhere in particular. "They're both really upset. Marlene got bullied, and she got angry and slapped the boy that was being mean to her. The boy punched her and gave her a black eye, and then Denzel got in on the fight as well." Cloud's frown deepened, but he didn't say anything. "Marlene... I guess she was talking about her two dads..."

Cloud blinked owlishly, his expression turning into that of confusion. "Uh... 'Two dads'?"

Tifa nodded. "...Barret, and..." She locked eyes with Cloud. "...You." Cloud scratched the back of his neck, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.

_...Dad? ...Me?_

"Poor Marlene," she continued, clasping her hands in front of her. "That mean little boy made her cry. He told her that she didn't have a real family. He told her that nobody loved her."

Cloud shook his head, leaning against the counter. It was too much. Of course people loved Marlene. He loved Marlene. He just... Still hadn't quite figured out how to do this 'parent' thing...

_Dad... I'm Marlene's dad... Denzel's, too..._

The thought swam through his head. He didn't really know how it made him feel. Something between happy elation, intense fear, unbridled self-doubt, and ultimately, confusion. _Dad... Dad..._ The word repeated through his mind over and over again.

"Cloud... Maybe you should go talk to them. It's getting close to their bedtime, and they've been grounded in their room all day..."

"Talk to them..." Cloud repeated, dazed and absorbed in his own thoughts.

"Yes, Cloud... They want you to talk to them. They asked for you earlier today. Both of them did. Kept asking when you were getting home..."

Cloud snapped out of his thoughts just long enough to say, "I'm sorry... I told you I would get home earlier..."

Tifa shook her head, walking up to him. "It's okay, Cloud..." She reached out and gently touched his forearm. "You're scared, aren't you?"

"...I don't know what to say," he admitted.

"Just say what you feel."

Cloud averted his gaze from the sweet smile Tifa was giving him. "Not my strong suit," he supplied.

"That's okay, too, Cloud." She trailed her fingertips down to his wrist, dropping her hand before he would have liked her to. "Just... try?" It was a question. Not a command. Cloud looked back at her again, his eyes softening and his resolve mounting. He could do this. He needed to do this.

"...Okay." He looked at her a moment longer, and then he turned to leave the kitchen. She stayed behind to clean the dishes. He took a few moments to compose himself and gathered his thoughts in his room, and when he finally felt as ready as he could feel, he walked across the hall. Cloud knocked on the children's bedroom door, decorated with two different signs that read 'Marlene' and 'Denzel', and waited a few moments before entering the room, leaving the door only slightly ajar as he did. A small desk lamp was lit, and Denzel was leaning against his headboard, knees tucked up to his chin with a book situated on top of his lap. His eyes darted up to Cloud, and he gently closed the book - what looked to be a history textbook - and set it aside. Marlene was lying down, her tiny body completely cocooned in her quilts.

"Hey guys," Cloud said a bit awkwardly. "...Is Marlene asleep?"

The quilts rustled and Marlene popped her head out, her usually perfectly braided hair a tangled mess. "No, I'm awake." Her voice was small and quiet, very unlike her usual boisterousness.

Cloud frowned. "Let me see your eye." Marlene obliged, sitting up and lifting her face to Cloud's larger frame. He leaned down and gently tipped Marlene's chin up, pushing her bangs out of the way and studying the injury with his other hand. She winced a little bit when his fingers gingerly prodded at the bruising that spread down to her cheekbone. "It still hurts?" he asked.

She nodded as Cloud's hands fell from her face. "Tifa already put some ointment on it and used a Cure materia. She said she couldn't use anything better because I'm too little."

"Mmm," Cloud nodded. "Tifa's right. But it doesn't look too bad. It should be healed up in the next few days." He settled himself on the edge of Denzel's bed, folding his hands in his lap and lowering his head. "Tifa told me everything that happened."

The kids exchanged unsure glances. Cloud knew that Tifa had already given them a very stern lecture, despite the loving care she had undoubtedly given to Marlene's eye and the kids' emotions as well. Cloud didn't say anything more, waiting for one of the children to speak first. Marlene spoke after a moment's silence.

"That boy really hurt my feelings. I felt so... angry." Marlene shook her head, her voice uncomfortably serious. "I've never felt so angry before. I felt like I couldn't control myself. He just kept talking and talking with his big, stupid mouth, and... I slapped him."

Cloud nodded sagely, still silent. He turned his head to Denzel, who hadn't said a word since he had walked in. "And you?" he prodded.

Denzel shifted around uncomfortably. "I got angry too, when he punched Marlene. He was almost twice her size. I jumped on his back and started choking him from behind. That's when Mr. Heffner pulled me off of him and broke us up." Denzel lowered his head, ashamed. "I'm sorry."

Cloud was silent for a moment longer, carefully choosing the proper words he wanted to say in his head. "Tifa wouldn't like me telling you this..." he started, "but you did the right thing." Denzel lifted his head, a puzzled look crossing his features. "Well, I mean, it's not a good idea to get into fights," Cloud corrected himself. "But it was right of you to try and protect Marlene. She was hurt. And no matter what anyone says, event though you shouldn't go looking for fights, it's important to protect the people you care about if someone is trying to hurt them." Cloud turned his attention back to Marlene. "However, not everything is worth a fight. You have to pick your battles, too." Marlene drew her legs up to her chest, wrapping her small arms around them. Cloud sighed softly. "People will say lots of mean things that will make you feel so angry, you could just..."

"Slap them in the face?" Marlene supplied.

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, slap them in the face. Sometimes, people are mean for no reason. Or, they're so miserable that they try to make everyone around them miserable, too. Or maybe they have their own problems that they're dealing with, and they don't know how to handle them. So they act out and are mean to people, instead of trying to make friends. At least, that's how I was when I was a kid..." He shook the faded memories out of his head. "What I mean is, that kid was a bully. And he was probably bullying you because he doesn't know how to be nice to people, or maybe he doesn't have a lot of friends himself. Either way, you can't let what people say get to you like that. If you do, you'll end up in a lot of fights. It's just mean words, and they're not worth fighting over. No matter how angry you feel, it's better to just walk away." Cloud leveled with Marlene's gaze, his look and tone becoming more fatherly than he realized. "Do you understand?"

Marlene nodded her head slowly, resting her face against her knees. Cloud cleared his throat uncomfortably. He had said a lot. "Well... good. And, uh, Denzel..." He turned back to the young boy, who had seemingly been studying the frayed threads in his bed sheets. "Good job, for sticking up for Marlene like that. But... you're older, so it's your job to help teach Marlene to make good decisions. So no more unnecessary fights. You need to step up and take charge. Okay?" Denzel nodded, his eyes serious.

Marlene scoffed quietly, her face still pressed to her knees. "Why does Denzel have to be in charge of everything I do?"

Cloud quirked an eyebrow. "Because..." he stated, leaning forward to gently poke his index finger into Marlene's uninjured forehead, " _you_ sort of have a penchant for getting into trouble. When you start doing a better job of staying _out_ of trouble, then I won't hold Denzel responsible for you anymore." His lips curved into a small smile. Maybe this was easier than he thought it would be. "It's okay though, Marlene. You just get it from Barret. Someday, that penchant for trouble-making might come in handy. But not right now." He patted her gently on the head, and she smiled, too. Cloud looked back to Denzel and his smile faltered when he noticed that the messy-haired boy held a very serious frown.

"Denzel...?"

The boy looked down, swiping his arm across his eyes. "We, uh..." He glanced up to Cloud, and then to Marlene, almost looking ashamed, as a tear escaped from his iris. He lowered his head once more, and very quietly, asked, "We really are a family, right? I... I really did the right thing?"

Cloud frowned, and rested a heavy hand on Denzel's shoulder. Still small, still boyish. "Yes." He said it firmly. "You did the right thing. Families take care of each other. _We_ take care of each other."

"But," Denzel sniffed, "that boy was right... You're... You're not..." His shoulders began to shake. "You're not my real dad. And you're not Marlene's either!"

With that statement, the usually calm and collected child began to cry. It hurt Cloud more than he expected it to. The words stung deeply, coursed through his veins and shot straight through his heart. Of course he wasn't Denzel's real father... He knew that. He knew that very well. Still, he never would have expected such a truthful phrase to hurt so badly. Wasn't he just terrified to be considered a father only ten minutes ago? Strange how quickly he changed his feelings about the whole thing.

" _Denzel..._ " Marlene whispered.

Cloud rested his other hand on the boy's shoulder, squeezing them gently. "Hey. Look at me." Denzel lifted his head, still crying, and Cloud locked his softened gaze with the hurt child's. He pushed through pain that Denzel's words had caused him and for once in his life, spoke without any forethought.

"I know that," he said softly. "I know I'm not your dad. I would never try to be. I can't replace someone that you loved so much. I know how much you miss your parents. I have people that are gone now, that I still miss every day. It's been a long time now and it still hurts. They're never coming back..." Denzel sniffed, trying to control his tears. "It's a terrible feeling," he continued. "One I wouldn't wish on anybody. Especially somebody like you. But... sadly, it happens to everyone, eventually. That's why we have to stick together." Cloud glanced at the Fenrir ring that dangled loosely from the chain around Denzel's neck. "I'll never be able to be your dad, or your mom, or anyone else you lost. But... I'll try my hardest to be the best _Cloud_ I can be." The blonde's hands fell from Denzel's still-quivering shoulders. "I know that's not much. I know I'm not the best person to have around. I know I'm gone a lot and I do a bad job of being here for you guys. But I'm trying harder, and I'll keep trying harder and harder until I become the best person I can be to you. And no matter what anyone says... We _are_ a family." Cloud lost his words then, and Denzel slowly wrapped his arms around Cloud's stomach. The swordsman stilled, before wrapping his own arm around the boy, looking over his shoulder and opening his other arm to Marlene. She slid off the bed and came to him, and then he was hugging both children, resting his face on top of both of their tiny heads.

This was a strange feeling that Cloud wasn't accustomed to. He had shared a few hugs with Marlene before, awkwardly, but this was different. He felt a powerful feeling wash over him, and he pulled the children tighter to him, still. He felt like he needed to do everything in his power to keep them from crying. To keep them smiling and happy. To keep them from getting into fights and from getting hurt. Something inside him lurched and swelled up, and he knew he was turning into a wolf, a powerful wolf that needed to protect his cubs, needed to protect his pack. Just needed to protect. After so many years of using his body as a tool for destruction, something new was dawning on him. He was their protector. It didn't matter if he wasn't Denzel's father, or Marlene's Papa. They were still his kids, damnit.

_That's right... My kids._

_My family._

_...Tifa._

He heard the quiet footsteps climbing the rickety wooden stairs. He felt her presence at the door, lingering momentarily as she took in the tender moment laid out before her. He felt her warm arms gently wind around his back, reaching to touch both Denzel and Marlene as well. Her face, buried in his shoulder, hair falling everywhere. He wondered if he could stay like this forever. In that moment, he became strong. He became powerful. His self-doubt washed away and was replaced by something new.

_Those people... Whoever they are... Let them fucking try to lay their hands on my family._

_I'll kill every last person who dares to even look at them the wrong way._

**•** **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

He could hear their quiet conversation through the door, just barely audible.

_"I'm sorry, Tifa. We were supposed to be extra good today, and I messed everything up."_

_"It's okay, Marlene. We all have bad days. To tell you the truth, I had a bad day today, too."_

_"Because of me?"_

_"No, honey. It wasn't because of you. You and Denzel made my day better, even if you did get into trouble."_

_"Why did you have a bad day, then?"_

For a moment, there was silence.

_"It's hard to explain, sweetie. Maybe I'll try to tell you some other time."_

More silence.

_"Okay."_

_"You two need to get some rest. We're getting up early tomorrow and we're cleaning the whole bar."_

_"...Cloud too?"_ Denzel's voice.

_"Yep. All of us are gonna clean up together. So get some rest so that we can get to work in the morning."_

A few mumbled 'goodnight's later, Cloud heard her walking towards his room. A soft knock at the door waited for his usual response of "Come in". She opened the door but didn't step inside. Instead, she waited at the doorframe, and Cloud turned in his desk chair to see her leaning against the wooden frame, her hands clasped in front of her.

"Want to join me downstairs for a drink?"

She looked exhausted, and somehow, a little shy. A drink with Tifa sounded good. Better than good.

"Yeah" was his simple response. Her expression seemed to perk up, and she disappeared from the doorway, leaving Cloud to stash away his planner and maps that were scattered over his desk.

A few minutes later, he found her already seated at the bar, thoughtfully sipping on a short glass of whiskey. She smiled warmly at him when he appeared at the bottom of the stairwell, and she patted the stool beside her.

"Here, your favorite," she offered as he slid into his usual seat. _That's right,_ my _seat,_ he thought possessively. He took the glass gratefully, taking a hearty swig of the amber-colored substance. It seeped down his throat and seemed to warm him to his core.

"I told the kids that we're getting up early and cleaning the bar tomorrow." She took a sip of her drink. "As punishment," she added.

Cloud nodded. "I heard."

Tifa laughed weakly, shaking her head. "Of course you did."

The blonde was quiet for a moment, taking another long drink of whiskey as well.

"It's been a long day." She said it quietly to the empty space in front of her, her hair covering much of her profile.

"Yeah..." Cloud agreed simply.

"This is the first time you've been home this early in a long time."

"...Yeah."

A pause. "...I'm glad you're here." She took another drink. Her glass was over half-empty already.

Cloud took another drink as well, feeling the all-too familiar burn begin to creep into his cheeks. "Me too."

They were both silent for a moment. It only felt slightly awkward.

"I've been thinking about a lot of things," she said, still looking at nothing in particular ahead of her. If she was trying to break the tension, it wasn't working.

Cloud swallowed thickly; his mouth was beginning to feel tight and dry. "Like what?"

"Marlene and Denzel..." She trailed a finger around the rim of her glass. "How they must feel... Barret, too... " She turned her head slightly, her eyes flashing behind the thick veil of her hair. "...You."

Cloud's stomach lurched unexpectedly, and he swallowed down another hearty gulp of whiskey. It didn't help.

"I told you not to worry about me." His shoulders hunched over instinctively, as if he were trying to cave in on himself.

Tifa made a funny noise. It might have been a laugh. "I know you're tired of my worrying... I guess the truth is that I'm afraid to give you the space you need." Cloud's eyes widened. "Last time I left you alone, you..." She trailed off, lowering her head and effectively hiding most of her face from Cloud's view. "It's just that... I guess I'd like to know how you feel. About all of this." She turned to face him, then. There was something unsettling about the way she looked. Meek, maybe. Vulnerable.

"Tifa..."

"I can't help but wonder if I'm doing the wrong thing," she blurted out.

Cloud angled himself towards her, his brows furrowing together tightly. "What are you talking about?"

"You, I..." She shook her head, searching for the right words. "I ask so much out of you. I always want you to come home, to spend time with us. Every time you're gone for too long, I get scared that you're not coming back. I mean, I'm asking you to be a _father_ to children that you never really agreed to raise. Everything I say about us being a family... I can't help but wonder if I'm asking too much of you?" Her voice was cracking, and Cloud could see that, once again, she was fighting back tears. He felt like she had been crying a lot, lately. It seemed like it was always his fault. "Especially now, with the attacks-"

"Teef..." He cut her off with a nickname reserved for only him to use. "You've got it all wrong. I don't think you're asking for enough." Tifa blinked away a tear. "You have no idea how happy I am to have you and the kids. If anything, _I_ ask too much of _you_..." He turned away again, watching Tifa wipe her face from the corner of his eye. "I'm not very good at having a family. I'm definitely not good at being a 'dad', and I'm really not even good at being a friend."

"Cloud-"

"But I want to be." He looked back at her, and brilliant blue eyes met their watery vermilion counterpart. "I don't deserve to have a family like this, because I haven't treated any of you well. But I'm tired of running from my problems. That's why I'm going to do everything in my power to be around more often. To be a better father to those kids and to be a better friend to you. " He cocked his head, holding Tifa's gaze gently. "I learned that from you, Teef."

Tifa's cheeks began to glow a pale crimson. "Cloud..."

Something about the way she said his name sent a shiver down his spine. Hesitantly, he reached out and took both of her hands into his. "We are a _family_ , Tifa." He stressed the importance of every word. "We are a family because we _choose_ to be. We are a family because we _want_ to be. That's what makes us so special." His eyes darted down to her right hand, and he rubbed his thumb over the large ring that she was wearing, the relief of the wolf matching his own emblems on his pauldron and his earring. "Do you remember what I told you when I gave you this ring?" He looked back up at her, eyes partially hidden under the thickness of his furrowed brow.

Tifa nodded. "Yeah, I remember... You told each of us the same thing."

"That's right." Cloud slowly began to trace circles into the top of each of her hands. "What did I say?"

Tifa just looked at him with wide, tearful eyes. "What did I say, Tifa?" he prompted gently.

"That... we're a pack," she breathed.

"And?" He squeezed her hands a little tighter. He didn't want to let go.

"And... That we protect each other."

"Mm-hmm," Cloud hummed. Maybe it was the liquor, or maybe it was just the way Tifa was looking at him, but his boyish shyness was quickly being replaced with a sense of urgency to quell her fears. "And?"

"And that we stick together."

Cloud nodded. "Tifa... Unless you want me to, I'm never going to leave again. I mean that. I'll say it over and over again until you finally believe me. And... Don't..." He shook his head, still holding onto her hands, she still holding onto his. "Don't ever think that I don't want to be here. You can think a lot of things about me, but please don't ever think that..."

"Cloud..." Her voice was almost a whisper, her eyes darting to each of Cloud's own. The look she was giving him... He had seen that look before. It was causing his stomach to flutter and making his heart jump into his throat. He became overwhelmed with emotion, and the liquid courage dissipated into that familiar, childish fear. Reluctantly, he slid his hands out of her grasp, and turned instead to take another much-needed swig of his drink. It was only making his stomach tremble harder, but maybe it was making it easier for him to talk, as well. He needed to talk. He _wanted_ to talk.

"I really do wish you wouldn't worry so much," he mumbled. Tifa turned away again, too, hiding her face once more. "You didn't use to be this way."

The brunette was very quiet for a moment. "I didn't, did I?"

Cloud shook his head. "I like it when you're happy." A frown tugged at the corners of his lips. "You haven't been happy in a long time, have you?"

Tifa was still looking away, and her response was almost dangerous. "Have you?"

Cloud thought for a moment before speaking. "...I'm happy now," he said simply. "...I'm happy I'm home," he added. "...I'm happy you haven't given up on me." He downed the rest of his drink, setting the glass down gently on the bar. "Even when I gave up on myself." He heard the quietest giggle escape from Tifa and turned his head to see her finally looking at him, thankfully, with the slightest hint of a smile gracing her lips.

"I could never give up on you, Cloud."

He felt his own lips curl upwards as well. "I'm glad."

Her smile faltered as quickly as it had appeared. She nervously toyed with her ring, probably comforted by the endearing habit. "We'll really be okay?" she breathed.

"Mm-hmm."

"... _You'll_ really be okay?"

"I think so... If I have you and Denzel and Marlene, I'll be okay no matter what happens."

It happened so quickly, and the fleeting moment of a warm embrace around his shoulders was gone too soon. He didn't even have time to react before the brief hug was over, and Tifa was grabbing his glass off the bar and striding towards the kitchen. "You should really get some sleep," she called over her shoulder. Cloud was left scratching the back of his neck, standing a bit wobbly on his feet. The rest of the liquor was hitting him. He wanted Tifa to hug him again. It had been a while since he had felt that close to her.

"You need your sleep, too," he said, walking towards the kitchen.

"Yeah," she agreed, setting the now freshly-washed glasses on the drying rack. They locked eyes for a moment, and Cloud considered reaching out to her again, but found that he couldn't do it. He turned on his heel instead, and Tifa followed him silently up the stairs. There was an awkwardness surrounding them again. "Well... Goodnight, Cloud," she murmured, pausing at her doorway. "I hope you sleep well tonight." She smiled softly.

"...Goodnight, Tifa," was all he could think of to say.

They made their way into their respective rooms, and Cloud practically fell into bed. The weight of the world seemed to fall with him. This... Everything that was happening... It wasn't even the hardest thing they had gone through together. Nowhere near close. But, oddly enough, it felt like it might be the hardest challenge Cloud had faced so far. He could deal with being hurt, sick, and even crazy. He could deal with getting into life-threatening trouble himself. He just couldn't deal with Tifa getting hurt, or Marlene and Denzel coming into harm's way again - be it from bullies, Remnants of Sephiroth, or these new, mysterious SOLDIERs.

 _If you keep thinking like this, you'll just go crazy again,_ he chastised himself. _Don't you want to be proactive about your problems now?_

Yeah, that's right. Maybe there was some sort of solution. A solution that didn't involve him running away this time. A solution that would sedate his fear for Tifa's life - the kids' lives, too. Maybe, if he felt confident that Tifa could protect herself and the kids while he was away, he wouldn't feel so afraid. The truth was that he didn't, though. It's not that he didn't have faith in Tifa's abilities - he had seen the extent of the damage she could do, many times - but he had a bad feeling about the men who had attacked him today. Strong as she was, he wasn't sure if she could take on a group of sixty men all by herself, and they seemed to be nothing more than faceless grunts. Whoever was pulling the strings of this operation was surely not only strong, but smart, too.

Cloud rolled over into different positions in his bed for what felt like hours. There were some nasty feelings that were bubbling up from the pit of his stomach, all-too familiar and incredibly distasteful. Paranoia. Fear. Powerlessness. They danced around his mind, laughing at him pitifully, though they kept their distance. They only toed the outskirts of Cloud's consciousness, keeping their presence known, but not yet eating him up inside. Still, it was enough to keep him awake, racking his brain for answers, solutions, anything. At least he _was_ thinking proactively, and not succumbing to his self-depreciating tendencies, even though it was forced. Right now, there wasn't time to beat himself up. There was only time to figure out how to handle this situation. To figure out how to finally lead a normal life with his family. To figure out how to prove to Tifa how much she meant to him.

Maybe minutes had passed, maybe hours, but Cloud finally found some peace in his thoughts as the last lingering effects of the liquor melted away. He focused on the feeling of holding Tifa's hands, and on the way her pretty eyes had looked at him, just as she had looked at him the night before they had battled Sephiroth together two years ago. He focused on the warmth he had felt when she had embraced him. Those thoughts were comforting, and he felt himself calm down and begin to slip into a heavy slumber. Maybe, somehow, he _would_ sleep well.

**•** **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

The nightmares were evolving.

It had started off the same, as always. Tifa, standing on a grassy cliff, tears welled up in her eyes. Cloud, moving slowly, losing his thoughts and giving into his actions. Tifa, responding swiftly, kissing him and pressing her body closer to his. Cloud, succumbing to her touch, relishing the warmth of her embrace. Aerith. Aerith appearing where she didn't belong. Zack. Zack calling for his help. Sephiroth.

A silver-haired monster sat atop a throne of broken bodies, encircled by the loving arms of the Calamity from the Skies, Heaven's Dark Harbinger, the Mother Jenova. His eyes glowed sickly green, his thin lips pulled tautly into a sinister grin. "Kill them", he commanded effortlessly. A sword for Aerith's stomach, a bullet for Zack's chest. They came instantly from a hundred shadowy figures. The mysterious people donned SOLDIER infantry uniforms, just like the clothes that Cloud had worn a long time past. They moved closer, surrounding Cloud as he cried over his friends' deaths. Their faces were twisted and gruesome, displaying the fact that they were some failed Shinra experiments. They were pale and they looked as if they had lived underground for most of their lives. They circled closer, weapons drawn.

"Cloud!"

Her voice rang clear in his ears. He turned his head, and there she stood, posed in her fighting stance, her back pressing against his.

"Tifa! It's not safe here! You have to run!"

She didn't hear him. She launched into action, attacking the SOLDIER directly across from her.

"Tifa!"

Cloud tried to move, but found that his legs were too heavy to pick up. He panicked, throwing his sword around, but hitting nothing.

The merciless laughter from the devil's throne crept into his ears like a cockroach. "Look at yourself, Cloud. You can't even save Tifa from a few worthless grunts?"

Cloud ignored him, trying to run to Tifa, though his efforts were fruitless. He was yelling, maybe, and thrashing around like a fish on the shore. Useless.

"Oh?" The voice attacked his brain again. "She's been hurt."

Cloud's eyes flashed wildly to Tifa. She was lying on the ground, clutching at a gaping wound in the side of her stomach.

"Tifa! TIFA!"

"You'd better hurry, Cloud. She's bleeding out." Sephiroth laughed again, and snapped his fingers. Suddenly, Cloud could move. He flew towards the woman lying wounded on the ground, but a hundred SOLDIERs were moving in and blocking him. His sword crashed through them, mowing them down like lemmings. There were too many, though. They kept coming and coming in seemingly endless waves.

"Cloud..." Fire pulsed through his veins at the way Sephiroth cooed his name, so sickly-sweet. "Isn't this how your dear friend Zack died? Fighting off a thousand SOLDIERs just to save _you?_ "

Cloud heard every word he said, but he ignored him, yelling out war cries as he made his way through the mass of mutated SOLDIERs.

"I understand that you couldn't save the Cetra girl... You couldn't have stopped me from killing her, anyway."

Bullets were attacking him, some of them deflecting off of his sword, some of them sinking into his skin. He didn't care. He was getting closer. He was getting closer to Tifa.

"But, it's sort of sad that Zack had to die for you, don't you think? He was a much stronger fighter than you. Smarter, too. Braver. He was just a better person than you, in general. Isn't that why you wanted to be him so badly?"

Blood was soaking Cloud's form, but he kept pushing forward.

"Or, was it that you wanted to be like _me?_ I was your hero, after all. And now, I've been replaced by some dead, weak boy, and some dead, idiot girl. I think that hurts my feelings, Cloud."

The laughter filled his head up with a pressure that was going to burst open and cause his brain to explode out of his skull. He finally dropped to his knees, pulling at his hair and screaming soundlessly. His vision was blinded by the brightest white light, and all that was left, was His voice.

"Weren't you supposed to save Tifa if she was ever in a 'pinch'? Well, what about the children? Would you save them if they were in a 'pinch', too?"

The blinding light subsided, and Cloud was left gasping for breath, kneeling on the ground pathetically. He looked up to see all the thousands of SOLDIERs standing at attention, just the way he had once stood, leaving an open path to the woman who was lying helplessly on the ground.

"T-Tifa!" He scrambled to his feet and ran to her, scooping her up into his arms. He repeated her name over and over again, but she was limp in his embrace.

"Tifa... Tifa, no... Tifa... Please...

The laughter filled his head again. "She's not dead. But you're going to finish the job."

Tifa fell out of his arms as a high-pitched tone assaulted his ears, boring into his brain stem and snaking it's way through Cloud's entire being.

"Lift your sword, puppet. Hurt her with it, just as you did with the other girl."

Cloud felt his arms rising involuntarily. He fought it, shaking his head and gritting his teeth. "No!"

"Do as I command, Cloud. The children as well. Hurt them."

He caught a still image of Denzel and Marlene standing together before his vision was taken up by the white nothingness again.

"NO!"

"You are my _slave_ , Cloud, a slave to the Mother Jenova, and I order you to hurt them!" His voice was taking over everything else, filling his mind up with poison and taking control of his nervous system. "Hurt them just like you hurt everyone else you care about! _Hurt. Them._ "

Cloud bellowed out a pained cry, slicing the Buster Sword down into his own stomach.

**•** **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

Panic and absolute terror pulsed through Cloud's veins for only a split second when he awoke to a heavy weight on his chest and a hand clasped over his mouth. His Mako-green eyes slowly relaxed their pupils from tight reptilian slits to their more normal, rounded shape as he realized that both the heavy weight and the hand belonged to none other than Tifa.

"C-Cloud..." She slowly removed her hand from his lips, leaving Cloud gasping for breath, feeling the weight of her body move with his heaving chest. "You..." She collapsed her entire upper torso on him, burying her head in his chest, and began to cry.

"T-Tifa!"

What was happening? It was too much to process at once. He leaned forward on his arm, wrapping the other around Tifa's body, and then laid back down and wrapped his remaining arm around her back as well. His head hit the sweat-soaked pillow like a boulder crashing onto the surface of a lake. It felt like it might split open at any second, he still felt wild and fearful from his dream, and Tifa was crying in his arms, now. In his arms. Safe. In his arms. Alive.

"Tifa... Tifa..." He chanted her name. She was here. She was okay. He was okay.

"Oh, Cloud..." she gasped, crying freely and without any more restraint. "I was so scared... I've never seen you thrash around so much..."

 _Thrash around?_ Shit. He was probably making a lot of noise, too. Her hand. She had her hand over his mouth so that he wouldn't yell and wake up Denzel and Marlene.

"Denzel... Did I wake up Denzel?..."

"No, no Cloud..." Tifa sobbed. "It's okay, I think he and Marlene are both still asleep... Oh, god..."

Cloud's breathing was becoming more even now, less erratic. Through the pain of the splitting headache, he began to become very aware of how close Tifa was to him. She was still crying.

_Always crying... Always because of me..._

"Tifa, please stop crying... Please..." His fingers curled into the thin fabric of her cotton t-shirt. "I'm sorry... Sorry I scared you... Just. Please..."

Tifa wordlessly took some deep breaths, still lying on his chest. He breathed in deeply with her, and after a few moments, they found a rhythm together. Cloud focused on the feeling of holding her in his arms, feeling the weight of her chest rise and fall with his. It felt a little scary, a little intimidating, even, but as he felt his muscles relax beneath the weight of Tifa's body, he began to feel comforted by her physical touch. It sounded like she had stopped crying, now, but she didn't make any effort to move. For what seemed like eternity, Cloud held Tifa in his arms silently. He didn't dare to move his hands, to trace patterns in her back like his mind was begging him to do. He just held her with still hands and even breaths.

"Tifa..." he finally murmured. "I'm okay now. Are you okay?"

She nodded silently into his chest, still unmoving. Cloud couldn't help himself. His head hurt so badly, and he felt like he might be dying, but holding Tifa felt so nice. He wrapped his arms around her tighter. She didn't oppose. Carefully, he lifted a hand from her back and gently cradled her head. "...Is this okay?" he whispered. She nodded silently again, head still pressed to his chest. He found his fingers snaking their way into her long, silky hair. They stayed that way for a long time, and since Tifa made no move to leave her current position, Cloud relished in the feeling of holding her tightly, until finally, he slipped back into a heavy slumber. He didn't even feel when Tifa gingerly pulled herself away from him sometime later, caressing his face and kissing his cheek before leaving to go back to sleep in her room.


	6. Curiosity

It was getting more and more difficult to wake up in the early mornings, but the relentless buzzing of the alarm clock ushered an exhausted brunette out of her warm bed. She sat on the edge of it for a time, needing the short minutes to adjust to being awake and fully conscious again. She had woken up from a very unpleasant dream. The memory of it was faded and murky, but she could vaguely recall the feeling of terror she had experienced when she had looked at Cloud. Somewhere in the distance, a Mako reactor had exploded behind him, and he had fallen to his knees, clutching his head in agony and mumbling to himself like a madman. Then he had fallen out on the ground completely, gripping his diseased arm and flailing around like he had done for the past few nights as he had dreamed, himself. "I've got to go", he finally told her, appearing in front of her, tucking his thumb under her chin and kissing her cheek softly. "Tifa, is Cloud leaving again?" Marlene had asked, her tiny figure materializing in the space in front of her. "Everyone knows Cloud always leaves. It's 'cause he's sick," Denzel stated matter-of-factly, appearing beside the young girl. "I'll kill them! I'll kill them!" Cloud shrieked from somewhere in the distance. His pained cries had morphed into the sound of the buzzing alarm. It had sounded like a ticking bomb in her sleep.

She gathered her things slowly, stretching and attempting to loosen her tight muscles. Her shoulders might have never been this tense before, and there was a noticeable headache creeping up the back of her cranium. She felt weak. Pathetic.

Tifa noticed that there was light seeping out of the crack of Cloud's bedroom door again, even at this hour. If he wasn't having nightmares, did he ever sleep anymore? She paused, settling her clothes for the day on top of her dresser, and knocked on Cloud's door softly. She heard him rustle around for a moment, before answering, "Come in," as he always did. He was seated at his desk, flipping through some sort of book. He didn't have his armor on, but he was otherwise dressed and looked prepared to leave, as always. It was only then that Tifa took note of her tired, disheveled appearance and felt a little bit self-conscious. She wasn't sure why, though. Cloud had seen her like this many times before.

"Good morning," he said politely. "You sleep okay?"

"I'm exhausted," Tifa admitted, holding on to the door and leaning on it for support. "How are you always up and ready to go so easily?"

Cloud shrugged. "Used to it."

Cloud's words deceived his appearance. Tifa noticed the prominent, dark circles that were forming under his eyes again. He was beginning to look ill, and it unnerved Tifa. It made her think of the Mako-poisoned Cloud she had found mumbling in Midgar two years prior. She knew he was tired. So was she, and though she was usually thankful to be kept tired and busy, she felt the lack of sleep begin to weigh on her heavily. Her body ached and she wanted nothing more than to sleep for another twelve hours...

She closed the door behind her gently and walked over to Cloud's bed, sitting on the edge of it and facing the blonde. She wasn't really sure what she was doing; she just wanted to be near him.

"Whatcha reading?" she asked, looking for any excuse to make conversation that was forcedly casual.

" _Documented Materias and their Effects_."

"Sounds interesting," she replied untruthfully.

Cloud swept his eyes over her form and turned in his desk chair to face her, accidentally brushing his knee against her own. Her stomach trembled nervously at the innocent contact, and the feeling of being held in Cloud's shaky arms the previous night bubbled up to the surface of her mind.

"Tifa..."

His hand outstretched, tucking a lock of messy hair behind Tifa's ear. "Thank you. For checking on me every night." Tifa's trembling stomach somersaulted completely and her heart pounded hard in her chest. His hand fell from her face, though she longed for the contact to last. "I sort of don't want to admit it, but it feels nice to be taken care of like that. Makes me feel better." He averted his gaze from hers, the slightest tinge of red creeping into his cheeks. Tifa smiled a little; he looked cute when he blushed.

"So... What you're saying is, you don't mind my worrying so much after all?" she teased lightly.

Cloud avoided looking at her still, but she noticed the subtle upward curve of his lips - a smile that she had become quite keen on recognizing. "I guess the truth always comes out eventually." Cloud's eyes finally found hers, though they were shyly hidden under the furrow of his brow, and his almost invisible smile banished completely, to Tifa's dismay. "But... You look so tired." He frowned. "Because of me."

 _She_ looked tired? Had he taken a look at himself lately? Tifa kept quiet while her mind swirled endlessly in a delicate dance between pure elation and despair. Cloud just didn't get it...

"Maybe... I don't mind," she spoke softly.

"Hm?"

"Cloud... You're not the only one who's kept up at night because of your past..." The blonde's frown deepened. "...Maybe I'd rather be kept up at night taking care of you, instead..." She tucked her hair behind her ear again, this time on her own, feeling her cheeks begin to heat up as well. "Until you're finally better," she added.

"Better..." he mumbled. "You think I can be 'better'?" His eyes were shining brilliant blue, and they held Tifa captive in their beauty. She wasn't sure what exactly he meant behind those words. In any case, she believed Cloud could be whatever he wanted to be.

"Of course I do, Cloud. I believe in you." The brunette smiled sweetly; it was a little embarrassing, but it was true. She had always believed in Cloud, right from the time they were young teenagers and he had told her that he was going to become a SOLDIER. Even as he failed, seemingly time and time again, Tifa continued to believe in him. Continued to believe in her hero.

"Tifa..." His fingertips had somehow found hers, and he brushed against them lightly. "You're so selfless. Always putting everyone else before yourself..."

_Selfless...? But..._

Cloud shook his head. "When's the last time you did something for yourself?"

Tifa didn't know how to answer that question. "I-I don't know..." she stammered.

His hands wrapped around hers fully, and despite the butterflies that were fluttering in her stomach, she took comfort in his warm touch. It felt like his hands were always supposed to be there, just like that. "Let's do something fun together for once."

Tifa stared at him stupidly. "Fun?" she echoed.

"Yeah. Fun. Maybe we could all go somewhere for your birthday. We'll take the kids out of school for the day, you'll keep the bar closed, and I'll set back deliveries."

For some reason, Tifa couldn't comprehend Cloud's suggestion. She had actually forgotten all about her quickly-approaching birthday. "Close the bar?" she murmured.

"Just for a day."

"But... The kids?"

"We'll keep it a surprise. Have them make up their school assignments the next day."

"Your customers?" Her words almost came out in a whisper.

"My customer service is good enough as it is. They can wait an extra day."

Tifa was shocked. She shook her head. "I don't know..."

"Just think about it," he said softly. "We'll go wherever you'd like. Do whatever you want to do." He held her hands tighter, and Tifa cursed herself for relishing in his touch so fondly. "You deserve it."

_Deserve it?..._

Was that really how Cloud felt about her? But... She wasn't selfless, and she _didn't_ deserve it. She didn't deserve anything she had, and she was the most selfish person she knew. Who else but her would join AVALANCHE purely to seek revenge on one person, killing thousands of other people in the process? Who else would allow a young boy's parents to die, essentially, by her hand, and then claim him as her own child? Who else would guiltily enjoy the sparks of pleasure that erupted from Cloud's hesitant touch, when she already knew that his heart had belonged to another woman, a woman he probably hadn't fully mourned over yet?

"I need to get ready," she stated, her voice betraying her by sounding sadder than she had anticipated. She pulled her hands out of Cloud's grasp, frowning at the sudden lack of contact, and made her way towards his door. He didn't try to pull her back, but his voice murmured her name so softly that she stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him.

"Don't worry," he said gently.

Tifa's brow furrowed. "About what?" she voiced her confusion aloud.

"...Everything."

A small smile slowly crept across Tifa's lips. "I'll try."

"Me too."

She nodded, turning and leaving Cloud's room, shutting the door behind her gently. She smiled to herself as she gathered her clothes for the day, feeling just a bit of the tension melt from her shoulders. The warm shower helped, too. She gave herself an extra ten minutes to just attempt to relax and allow the water to actually become hot.

_'You deserve it'... At the very least, I deserve a hot shower every once in a while... Don't I?_

Strangely enough, she felt like she did. Maybe because Cloud thought so, as well.

After dressing and grooming herself, Tifa came downstairs, for the second day in a row, to the smell of cooked food. There were no bubbly, childish voices accompanying the scene in the kitchen, though. Cloud stood alone at the stove, turning over pieces of bacon with a fork.

"I didn't burn it this time," was his greeting. Tifa giggled quietly, asking if he wanted some help, but he turned her down politely. She went and roused the kids out of bed instead. They both acted like they didn't want to get up, and Tifa empathized with them, but she made them get out of bed and get dressed anyway. It was a little disheartening to see them act so groggy, especially Marlene. She was an early bird, always bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the mornings, but she was very quiet today. Tifa frowned, asking her if her eye still hurt. It did.

Breakfast was quiet, and maybe a little strained, but Tifa was still thankful to be able to sit down like a family with Cloud and the kids. Everybody seemed to be picking at their food this morning, even Cloud, who had practically demolished his breakfast the day before.

"Tifa, Papa still hasn't called, has he?" Marlene finally asked, breaking the slightly uncomfortable silence. Tifa sighed quietly.

"No, sweetie, he hasn't. But I'm sure he'll call as soon as he gets a chance. I know he wants to talk to you."

Marlene nodded, resuming eating without another word. She looked sad. Denzel's brows were furrowed, and his eyes looked distant; he must have been deep in thought about something. Tifa caught Cloud's eyes, and they exchanged a glance, silently communicating to each other that they both realized that the kids were upset.

"Hey, Marlene, we should start planning our AVALANCHE reunion party soon," Tifa piped up, her voice deceptively chipper. "We can think of some fun games to play with Barret and everyone else." Tifa was glad to see Marlene's eyes light up just a little bit.

"Can we play cards?"

"Of course! That's a great idea." Tifa smiled warmly.

Marlene smiled too, and it made Tifa feel a little bit better. She looked at Cloud again from the corner of her eye. His eyes looked distant now, too.

"We should have the party on your birthday," Denzel said quietly.

"My birthday?" Tifa echoed. "I haven't had a birthday party in years." Well, there was that one time that Barret, Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie had thrown her a surprise party, but for the past few years, Tifa had chosen to keep her birthday a relatively quiet affair.

"Do you want to?" came Cloud's gentle voice, his attention returned to the conversation.

Tifa thought about it. "I think I might like that... But, it's so soon..."

She had honestly forgotten all about the fact that she was turning another year older in just a few days' time. With everything that had happened, her birthday seemed so... unimportant.

"That's even better," Cloud stated quietly. "I think we all need to have a little fun around here."

"But... I thought..." Tifa trailed off. Cloud had seemed upset when she talked about having the AVALANCHE reunion, and she was planning on having that at a much later time. Maybe the social interaction from their friends could be a good thing...

_But... It might just make things harder for him, too..._

"Are you sure a party is a good idea? So soon?"

Cloud regarded Tifa carefully, flashing his eyes over to Marlene's somewhat excited expression, and then glancing at Denzel, who looked a little perkier, as well.

"Hmm... I don't know..." he drawled, scratching his head thoughtfully. "Marlene, what do you think? Should we throw Tifa a birthday party?"

"Yes!" the little girl exclaimed, finally showing her true personality and clapping her hands excitedly.

"Denzel, what's your opinion?"

The young boy was quiet for a moment, before saying, "I think it sounds like fun". A shy smile began to stretch across his face.

Cloud looked at Tifa, his own tiny, characteristic smile brightening up his face as well. "Well, the verdict is in. I think everyone wants to have a party."

Tifa finally smiled a real, genuine smile. "Okay. A birthday party it is, then."

They finished their breakfast with a much more comfortable atmosphere of conversation as Marlene jabbered about party games and decorations. Denzel even weighed in on food and game ideas, and Cloud agreed with him from time to time, seemingly enjoying the casual conversation. The kids weren't exactly happy to be reminded that they had to clean the bar afterwards as punishment for getting into their fight the previous day, but they complied, nonetheless. Cloud even helped, scrubbing windows with Marlene as Tifa dusted and prepared the day's stew, and Denzel mopped.

"Cloud, you don't have to stay if you have deliveries..." Tifa mumbled to him after some time.

"It's okay," he replied. "I was actually hoping you would come with me to Midgar before I head out for the day. I can have you back before the bar opens."

"Midgar?" Tifa echoed, confused. "What for?"

"It's hard to explain," he said after a short stretch of silence. "There's somewhere I want to go, and...I was hoping you could come with me."

Blue eyes glanced away from her shyly, and Tifa nodded, though she felt an uneasy sadness creeping into her heart. She knew exactly where he wanted to go. _'My place_ ', he had called it, not too long ago. She smiled anyway, telling the swordsman that she would go with him.

"Good... Thank you," he responded.

"No problem!" Tifa said brightly, her happy expression and chipper voice masking the sad feelings that were beginning to swirl inside of her.

_He wants to go to Aerith's church... Because he misses her? No... Maybe he forgot something there..._

"Tifa," he muttered, his cheeks flushing a pale shade of pink once again. "You should smile more often."

His comment snapped Tifa out of her melancholy thoughts almost instantly. "Huh?" was all she could stupidly utter.

"...I like it when you smile."

Tifa did, despite the dark and confusing feelings that always surfaced whenever she thought of _her_.

**•** **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

Regardless of Tifa's personal feelings, there really was something special about the little run-down church in the practically demolished Sector 5 slums. Though there was a large hole in the roof, and noticeable damage still left from Tifa's fight with Loz only two months previously, everything else was perfectly pristine; it looked like the place hadn't been touched since Tifa and Cloud had passed out in the flowerbed together. Amongst the ruins of the desolate city, Aerith's church stood proud and tall.

The flowers were still blooming, strong and beautiful as ever. Tifa wandered up to the earthy bed, choosing a lone lily and picking it gently. She looked over her shoulder at Cloud, who was facing the doors of the church, head lifted to the heavens above him, lost in thought. Tifa wondered if he felt sad.

"Here," she offered, standing beside the swordsman and offering the lily. "She always smelled like flowers..." He took it in his hands, turning it over and toying with it absently. "Cloud..." She began to twist her ring nervously. "I know I told you to move on, but... You know, it's okay if you still need to grieve for a while..."

Cloud said nothing.

"...When I told you to choose... Between us, or a memory... Maybe I was being selfish when I said that to you..."

"No," he murmured quietly. "You weren't."

They stood beside each other silently for some time. After a while, Tifa spoke softly. "...Does this place make you feel better? When you're upset?"

Cloud took his time in answering. "Maybe a little... But that's not why I wanted to come here..."

A puzzled expression flitted across Tifa's face. "Why did you, then?" she asked quietly.

"...I needed to check for something." His words sounded hesitant.

"Oh, well I can help you look!" Tifa offered, a forced air of optimism surrounding her voice.

"It's not here," he stated flatly, and sat down in one of the pews.

"Oh..." Tifa deflated and stayed quiet again for a long moment, moving to sit beside Cloud and doing her best to ignore the lump that was forming in her throat. "You know... I miss her too," she said. "Sometimes I miss her a whole lot." She swallowed thickly and stood back up, walking over to the flowerbed and kneeling over it, trailing her finger through the little puddle of water that had made its home there. Holy water that had cured Geostigma. Had cured both Cloud and Denzel.

_I remember how I cried over you..._

Tifa felt her eyes mist over, and her confusing feelings toward Aerith bubbled up to the surface of her mind. Her friend. Her rival. Her savior. Her angel. Tifa's thoughts soon simmered on all the sins that she had committed. After all, she was in a church, right?

_That day..._

A place meant for prayer?...

 _I was so stupid, wasn't I? I didn't know what was happening... I don't think any of us did. Anyone, except for you. Somehow, despite having all the odds against us, and having every plan shatter and fall apart before our very eyes,_ you _knew exactly what to do._ You _were the one who ran off into the face of danger, not a hint of fear or trepidation in your actions. You always told us it would be okay. You always said that everything would work out in the end. I guess, in some way, you were right._

_It's just that..._

_You were the noblest of us all. You didn't care about petty revenge or silly, unjustified jealousy. No, you cared about everyone else. You cared about the Planet, and you honestly cared for everyone on it. It was just like you to run in and throw your life on the line, just for a chance at saving the world. You were so heroic, and all I ever was... was scared. Scared, and... maybe...a little jealous. Jealous of you._

_I know that you knew. You didn't mind, though. You were such a good friend to me, even though I know you noticed the catty remarks that I'd make from time to time, or the way that I'd look at you like I hated your guts. I never did, though. I guess I just wanted to_ be _you. You were beautiful and brave and strong and confident and... You had Cloud. You were everything that I wanted to be, and... I just couldn't handle that. Even so, you treated me like I was your best friend. In the short time that I knew you, we became so close, even though I had always harbored those jealous feelings toward you, though I had buried them deep inside my heart. I'll never forget the times we'd giggle together over the silliest things, or how you'd make me feel better by braiding my hair like yours and helping me cook dinner over our campfires in the dead of night. You treated me like gold and I treated you like copper. You deserved a better friend than someone like me. But I didn't deserve a friend as good as you._

_I wish I could tell you that I'm sorry. I'd get down on my knees and beg for your forgiveness... Even though I already know that it would be unnecessary. You would say something like, "Silly, what's there for me to forgive?" Then you'd smile that pretty smile of yours and offer your hand to pull me off of my knees. No wonder Cloud fell for you... You know, I do regret how I felt about you back then. Even though I rarely said anything mean to you, I hate that I thought so many jealous and petty thoughts towards you. I was younger, dumber, and more immature back then... But that's still no excuse. I lost out on valuable time with you. We were great friends, I think, but I could have been a better friend to you... And now, I'll never get that time back. If I had been a little wiser back then... A little kinder..._

_If I could take your place, I would. It would have been better if you had lived, and I had died. You could still be down here, with your friends, with Cloud... And he would be better off if you were here with him now, instead of me..._

A single tear fell from Tifa's stinging eyes, dropping in the puddle of water beneath her silently.

 _Cloud... He's... He means so much to me, but... I don't know if he'll ever be okay... The pain he must feel... His mind... It's a jumbled mess, I know it is... And maybe, my mind is becoming a jumbled-up mess, too... I just... I just don't know what to do anymore. I think..._ you _would know what to do._

Suddenly, Tifa heard a soothing feminine voice, as clear as day. "Tifa... I wish you wouldn't put yourself down so much. Everything's alright. I think you know exactly what you need to do..."

Tifa blinked, taken aback.

_...Aerith? Is that... you?_

A soft giggle bubbled up from nowhere in particular. "You already know what you need to do, but the real question is... Are you ready?"

"What?" Tifa said aloud.

_Aerith..._

"I said, are you ready?" Cloud's deeper tone replied. Tifa turned her head to look at him. He stood behind her, arm outstretched in a polite gesture.

"Y-Yeah," Tifa shakily responded. She took his hand and lifted herself up, glancing at the puddle and the flowers that were now behind her. The voice was gone, and nothing was there. She must have imagined it... The lack of sleep... That's all it was, right?

 _But she sounded so_ real _... Just like she was actually here, in this church._

"Tifa, are you okay?" Cloud inquired. He had started walking away without her, and she was glued to the spot. Her legs felt heavy.

"...Yeah," she responded. "I'm fine. It's just..." She looked back to the flowers once more for good measure. Nothing.

Tifa didn't notice Cloud's heavy footsteps approaching her, and was surprised to feel hesitant, gloved fingers gently touching her arm. She looked back to the blonde, who was standing just close enough to touch her. His expression was serious, almost sad, but when his eyes caught hers, he visibly softened just the slightest bit. "Come on," he said, motioning to the church doors with a slight jerk of his head. Tifa nodded silently, and finally willed her cement legs to move forward.

 _"You know exactly what you need to do..."_ The words that had sounded so real rang through her mind and echoed like a bell.

_But I don't... I don't know what to do..._

Softly, so softly that she almost didn't notice at first, the same gloved hand had found the bend in her elbow, and had trailed down to trace the palm of her hand, wrapping around it gently and gingerly lacing it's fingers into Tifa's own. The barmaid looked wide-eyed at Cloud, only to see that signature, timid little smile gracing his features.

_Cloud... Smiling, at a time like this..._

They walked out of the church together, hand-in-hand.

_But... Doesn't it still hurt? That she's gone?_

"Cloud..."

_The nightmares... Your health... Isn't it too much? Why are you smiling?_

The blonde looked at her with gentle eyes, squeezing her hand in his ever-so-slightly.

"It's alright, Teef." Tifa stopped walking for just a moment, just long enough to look Cloud deep in the eyes, searching for any sign of hidden sadness. His expression truly was gentle... Reassuring, even. Their hands were still clasped together as Cloud gently pulled her towards his parked motorcycle.

_Smiling... And... Holding my hand..._

"You've still got some time before you need to open the bar, right?" came his quiet voice. He was blushing again, and he slowly let go of Tifa's hand, mounting his bike.

"Y-Yeah..."

"Okay."

"Why?" Tifa hopped onto the back of the bike, placing her hands gingerly on top of Cloud's shoulders. She was intensely aware of the innocent contact.

"I want to take the scenic route home."

They drove past large, rolling expanses of empty land after exiting Midgar. Some of the fields were even growing wildflowers, and a few wild chocobos roamed freely. Tifa sighed, allowing her chin to rest delicately on Cloud's shoulder. She was thankful for how beautiful it was becoming out here. Only two years prior, these fields had been barren, but once Meteorfall had happened, and everyone had stopped using Mako for fuel, life had begun to spring forth from the seemingly dead landscape. The earth still showed its scars, though; there were large cracks in the ground out here, some of which extended so deep into the Planet that the Lifestream flowed and gurgled at the bottom of the pits.

Tifa felt her worries float away as she rode with Cloud, her face just close enough to his to evoke a warm, exciting feeling in her stomach, but still too far away for her to lean fully against him and kiss his cheek and neck like she truly wanted to.

_Down, girl..._

She only had a moment's time to experience the happy feelings wash away from her as she thought guiltily about Aerith, before an incredible roar erupted from the west. Tifa narrowed her eyes dangerously as Cloud instinctively reached for the largest of his Fusion Swords.

"Tifa," he called over the sound of Fenrir's revving engine, never losing speed. "Look in that bag and equip some materia."

Tifa did as instructed without question, pulling on her Premium Heart gloves that she had thought to bring just before leaving the bar, and then grabbing a few high-level offensive magic spells and a Cure, letting them sink into her arms beneath her gloves. "What do you think that is?" she asked.

"Don't know, but it sounds like trouble." He made a sharp turn on his bike, following the path of one of the large cracks in the earth. "It's fast. I can hear its footsteps. Get ready to fight."

Tifa nodded, holding onto Cloud's shoulders more tightly. She watched it emerge over the horizon - a huge behemoth. No, it was _enormous_. She had never seen one that big. It was strangely colored, and bulging with muscles, so much so that she could see them, even from so far away on the bike. It's gigantic feet pounded heavy on the ground, bringing it closer and closer to the fighters on the bike. Cloud revved the engine and made a beeline around the side of it, undoubtedly preparing to strike. It let out an incredible roar and charged at full speed, attempting to swipe at Fenrir but missing by a long shot.

That's when it happened. Tifa didn't know how, or why, but it had used its tail. It had used its tail as a weapon and had flung both her and Cloud off of Fenrir, and she was falling, falling in slow motion, and her back was suddenly sliding across pavement, and it _hurt_. It hurt like sandpaper and broken glass and it ate the skin on her back that wasn't protected by her leather vest, and she craned her neck, trying to protect her head as she skidded at an ungodly speed across the ground. And then, suddenly, she was grabbed, and pulled, and protected, as Cloud yanked her onto his chest and skidded along the pavement with her body on top of his. And before she knew it, it was over, and she was bleeding, and she was hurt, and she was dazed, and the beast roared again, charging once more at the two of them, but Cloud was so fast. Despite the pain he must have been feeling, he rolled her body over and swung his sword as he stood guarding her, slicing the behemoth's snout. It recoiled in pain, and Cloud began to strike it with incredible speed. Tifa stood as quickly as she could, getting her bearings and relishing in the rush of adrenaline that was beginning to pump through her body.

_That's it! I am NOT weak!_

She launched into action, ignoring the blood that was seeping down her back and her sides, feeling the pain leave her body and become replaced with a numbness and pure rage. She ran and jumped expertly onto the beast's face, landing an impressive combination of punches and kicks. It let out another terrifying roar, it's jowls opening wide to swallow Tifa up. She did a somersault off its face, landing in front of the creature and performing a water kick as she did. She watched the elemental waves crash over the creature with satisfaction, noticing Cloud fly past her and letting out another barrage of slashes against the monster.

Her muscles were hot, and she was on fire. She was fire and she was all power over this fiend, and she let the feeling pulse through her veins, down to her very core. With a battle cry that signaled for Cloud to _get the hell out of the way_ , she picked up the incredible beast, all with her own brute strength, and jumped into the heavens with the monstrosity, before throwing it down with the force of a meteor's impact. It let out a cry, a pained cry this time, rather than an angry roar, and she dashed to the front of the creature, pulling her fist back to perform her signature Final Heaven.

But it was too fast for her slow, yet powerful attack, and she was hit with the strength of the raging beast's giant paw, and she was sent flying back. She soared through the air ungracefully for a few hundred feet, and she turned her body in midair to land clumsily on her feet, but there was no ground beneath her, and she realized with intense horror that she was falling, falling into one of the giant cracks in the Planet's crust.

An involuntary scream erupted from her throat, and she grasped wildly for anything to grab onto, but there was nothing but empty space between her and the walls of the earth, and she was soaring faster and faster to the Lifestream at the bottom of the crater.

For a moment, for just a moment, a tiny little thought floated through her mind, so simple and sincere and strangely unafraid, only curious in its nature.

_Is this how I'm going to die?_

It was then that she saw him, coming down from the sky above her like some sort of angel, and then before she could mentally process it, she was being grabbed, and held tightly against his side, and his sword was being thrust into the rocky earth that surrounded them, and they were slowing down as the metal weapon sliced through the rocks and mud that made up the Planet's crust, and finally, they came to a halt.

"Tifa!" He held her bloody body against him so tightly it was almost painful. "Tifa, whatever you do, don't let go!"

"Cloud!"

"It's okay, I'm gonna get us out of this. Just hold on!"

She was suddenly powerless, and held onto her savior for dear life, as all she could do was cry his name over and over again.

"Tifa! Calm down!" He said it sternly, and it snapped her out of her freakout. "We have to work together. Do you understand?"

"Yes!"

"I need you to hold onto my back. Like a human backpack. Can you do that for me? Can you hold on tight?"

"Yes!"

Cloud was dangling dangerously from his sword, holding Tifa with his other arm. She obeyed his orders, using her powerful arm and leg muscles to maneuver carefully around to cling to the swordsman's back.

"Good, now just _hold on_."

"Okay!"

Cloud began climbing, pulling his other sword out of his holster and using it as a pick, jabbing it into the earth. He climbed in this manner for several minutes, his powerful arms straining only slightly under his and Tifa's combined weight.

"We're almost there."

"Cloud..." Tifa buried her face in his neck, still clinging tightly. He had saved her...

"The fight isn't over, Tifa. Be ready once we reach the surface."

"Y-Yes..."

Hearing him talk like that, ordering her so sternly and speaking with such a flat, authoritative tone to his voice, brought back memories of him commanding her and the rest of AVALANCHE, after he had taken over as "leader" of the group in the fight against Sephiroth. His voice was a little harsh, but somehow, it was reassuring, and it made her feel safe and strong.

"Tifa, get ready."

"I am." She said it confidently.

"Jump onto the surface. I'll be right behind you."

"Okay."

No hesitation. No more fuck-ups. There was a battle to be won. She jumped high into the air off of Cloud's back, landing like a cat on the ground. Instantly, she rolled out of the way of the behemoth's swiping paw.

_You won't get me again!_

She began throwing punches, kicks, and casting spells, giving it all she had, and she saw Cloud emerge from the crack in the earth out of the corner of her eye. He was quick as lighting, so fast that he began to blur and she only saw the still images of his graceful form that were left behind. She noticed that Fenrir was crashed nearby, and she darted towards it, grabbing two of Cloud's Fusion Swords from their holsters on the bike. She ran up the monster's back, expertly avoiding its tail this time, and stabbed the swords into the beast's spinal cord at the base of its neck before quickly hopping back off. It let out a pained cry. Cloud took it as a cue, and with his final, impossible-to-see attack from his signature Omnislash, he finished the monster off with a clean slice to its neck. It wailed in fury before falling ungracefully to the ground, causing the earth beneath Tifa's feet to tremble for a moment's time, and gurgled out its last breath. Cloud slid backwards in the mud beneath him, and he twirled his sword in one quick, victorious motion before holstering it and rushing towards the brunette. She fell to her knees, the adrenaline leaving her body instantaneously and leaving pain in its wake.

"Tifa!"

 _Oh_ , it hurt...

"Tifa! Tifa, you're bleeding a lot!" His eyes were wild and fearful, and he held his hands out in front of the brunette, allowing a powerful Cure spell to erupt from them and seep into Tifa's body like a salve. Her cells stitched themselves together quickly, and the pain in her muscles and bones eased, but she felt incredibly weak and nauseous. Wordlessly, she stumbled to her feet, trying to get away from Cloud, but he followed her, calling her name. She couldn't stop herself from throwing up everywhere on the ground beneath her, some of it splashing disgustingly on her boots.

"Oh, Tifa..." His voice seemed so distant, but she heard the sad sympathy in his tone. She retched again, and again, bending over more and more at the waist each time. Cloud's hands were on her, one tangled in her hair, holding it off of her face, and the other rubbing circles in her bloodied back. Tifa spit the last of the bile out of her mouth, feeling the blood leave her face.

_How embarrassing..._

"Tifa..."

She didn't want him to look at her. She was weak and disgusting and pathetic...

"Tifa, come on..." He eased his hand out of her hair and wrapped his arm around her waist instead, pulling her over to the overturned motorcycle lying on the ground and allowing her to sit in the dirt beside it.

"Here, drink this."

She was being handed something. An elixir, she realized. She drank it thankfully, and it helped her feel a little better. He handed her a bottle of water, too, and she drank some of it, swishing the water in her mouth and spitting it back out as well.

"I-I don't know what's wrong with me..." She said aloud. "I'm so weak lately... The Cure materia... It-"

"Shhh..." His hand reached out and stroked her hair. "It's okay."

"But-"

"Tifa... Just rest for a second..."

She did, closing her eyes and relishing in Cloud's gentle touch. She wasn't sure if he had noticed the way she leaned her head towards his hand, just slightly, but she was almost certain that she could feel his innocent strokes become a little stronger. He petted her head for a moment longer before Tifa spoke again.

"You saved me..." She cracked her eyes open, looking at Cloud from the corner of her vision. "Thank you..."

He blushed and stood up, removing his hand from her a little too quickly, and offered it to her instead to help her stand as well.

"No need to thank me... I'm just glad you're okay." He turned back to the dead monster that was lying on the ground. "I've never seen a behemoth like this," he murmured. "Normal ones are nowhere near this strong. This shouldn't have even been a fight for us."

"Yeah..." Tifa agreed, studying the creature as well. "I was thinking the same thing. I was surprised that it threw us off of your bike."

Cloud nodded. "It caught me off guard... I almost never lose control on Fenrir." He turned his back to the monster, then, scratching the back of his neck nervously. "Maybe I'm not at the top of my game right now..." he muttered.

Tifa shook her head, though he didn't see it. "You're stronger than ever, Cloud." She, on the other hand, really wasn't at her strongest...

The blonde blushed again and turned away once more, studying his surroundings for a moment, seemingly slipping deep into thought. "That thing had to follow us from Midgar."

"You think so?" Tifa pondered.

"Yeah. The SOLDIERs from yesterday followed me out of Midgar too, I think. But you were attacked in Edge yesterday, right?"

"Yeah..." Tifa replied. "But I was near the outskirts of town, on the side closest to Midgar. I heard a woman screaming in the alleyway, so I followed the sound of her voice. It was just one guy. A pretty normal-looking guy, too, but I underestimated him. He was just as fast as me, and he was strong, too, even though he didn't look it."

"I think they're tracking us every time we come into the city... Whoever they are..." Cloud stood silently for a moment, before moving to retrieve his swords from the beast's back. "...But I don't think they know where we live. Let's hope it stays that way." He pulled the swords out of the monster's flesh, swinging some of the blood off of them and hopping back down.

"You think the guy in Edge was a scout or something?" Tifa asked.

"Maybe, but I don't know." Cloud shook his head. "Let's get going before anything else tries to attack us." Tifa nodded silently in return, and they went to recover Fenrir, Cloud standing the bike in its upright position and throwing a leg over it wordlessly, taking care to stash his swords in their proper compartments on the bike. Tifa climbed on behind him as he pulled his goggles down over his eyes, and she placed her hands hesitantly on his shoulders. He turned his head to the side, glancing at her from his peripheral vision. "Tifa, hold on to me."

"But..." she pulled her bloodstained hands away from him cautiously. "...I'm disgusting. I'm covered in monster guts."

"I don't care. So am I." The blonde reached behind him, grabbing Tifa's hand and pulling it around his waist. "I'm not letting you fall off this bike again. Hold on tight and don't let go."

"O-Okay..." Tifa stammered, reaching her other arm around Cloud's waist as he revved up the engine and began to gain speed on his motorcycle.

As they sped along the desolate road, Tifa ruminated on the battle they had just fought. It had all happened so quickly... Just like in Edge yesterday, where the unknown woman's scream had come from nowhere, and the attacker had been so much stronger than she had anticipated... This behemoth was something she had never seen before, and it had seemingly materialized over the horizon. Was it some sort of monstrosity created by Shinra? It could have killed her, twice... But she had fought a thousand of Shinra's monstrosities before. Was she really becoming so weak?

Tifa gently pressed the weight of her chest into Cloud's back, laying her cheek near the top of his spine. The wind was cold, but he was so warm, like he just radiated heat. Her hero... He had saved her again. _Twice_ , in one battle. Tifa was upset that she had gotten hurt so easily, but at the same time, she was happy that Cloud was still keeping his promise to protect her... As long as he was around, she truly felt safe. She wanted to say something to him, but she wasn't sure _what_ she wanted to say. A simple 'thank you' didn't seem like enough.

The golden hairs on the back of Cloud's neck began to tickle her face, and maybe it was her imagination, but she swore Cloud had angled his neck backwards just the slightest bit, bringing his head to lean just a little bit closer against hers. Tifa kept her eyes closed to the harsh wind for some time, choosing instead to focus on the warmth radiating from Cloud's body. She was surprised to feel them both slowing down far before they would have arrived in Edge. She cracked open her eyes to see them approaching a small lake, situated by itself in a little grove of trees. "Cloud?"

"I know I need to get you back to the bar soon, but would it be okay if I got all of this blood off of me first?"

"Umm..." Actually, a quick dip in the lake sounded pretty inviting. She was covered in blood as well, not to mention the puke that was dried onto her boots. And, if she was being honest with herself, she didn't want to go back to the bar just yet because that meant Cloud would have to leave sooner. Denzel and Marlene would be okay a little bit longer... She had told them that they were allowed to watch TV while they were gone, but they weren't allowed to leave or to let anyone into the bar...

"What if we get attacked again?" she asked.

"Don't worry. I'll know if something is coming. I think we're safe now."

"Yeah... Okay," she agreed. Cloud would protect her if anything bad happened, anyway. "It does sound nice to get all this blood off." She hopped off of Fenrir first, and Cloud followed behind her, bringing the largest of his Fusion Swords along with him. He jabbed the blade into the ground near the shoreline, removed his boots, and walked into the water, fully clothed.

"I used to do this a lot."

"Do what? Go swimming?" Tifa asked, a bit of playfulness hinting in her tone. She was feeling a lot better, despite everything that had just happened. There was something about being in Cloud's presence when he wasn't fighting or hiding away from the world, that made her feel... happy. She took off her shoes as well, washing them off in the muddy water before following Cloud into the lake. It was a little chilly, but the cool water was refreshing and almost curative. The dried blood began to seep away from her body.

"Pretty much," Cloud replied simply. "I wouldn't usually stay for too long, but there's a few other lakes out here and a river that I would sometimes wash myself off in. So that Marlene and Denzel wouldn't have to see blood all over me." He pulled his gloves off, throwing them on the shore, and began to scrub at the leather armor protecting his body. Tifa frowned at the damage and reached around to feel the back of her own leather vest. They would need to buy new sets.

"Nothing beats a hot shower," Cloud continued, "but you know how much Marlene hates 'gross' things. Sometimes I'd have to fight off a few wild dogs or bandits out here, and it never felt right coming home covered in other people's gore." He unbuckled his pauldron from his shoulder, removing the rest of his armor from his torso, and tossed all of it on the shore as well. He was left in a tight-fitting black turtleneck, though his leather pants still covered his lower body. "I didn't even think about it when I came home yesterday," he muttered, unzipping his shirt and shrugging it off of his body. Tifa's face began to turn pink and she looked away, though Cloud didn't seem to notice. Did he even realize how attractive he was? He wrung the shirt out in the water and threw it on the shore before taking a breath and dunking his head under the water. He stayed under for a moment, and Tifa watched him curiously from the corner of her eye. Oddly enough, he almost seemed to be enjoying himself. He breached the surface, smoothing his usual spiky tufts of hair slick against his head. Tifa was still standing there and was now openly staring at him, the water only reaching up to her waist. "What?" he asked.

Tifa shook her head. "It's nothing." She dunked her head under the water too, allowing the muddy liquid to wash away the blood that was caked in her hair. She came back up, wiping the water out of her eyes to see Cloud floating on his back, eyes closed to the world around him. She couldn't figure him out. His expression was somehow almost serene, but she could still see the characteristic pucker between his wet eyebrows. She found herself wondering what he was thinking more and more often, as of late. "Aren't you upset?" she blurted out.

The swordsman lazily cracked open an eye. "Are you?"

Tifa thought for a moment. "...A little bit," she admitted. "I'm upset that this is happening to us, and I don't know why. And I'm upset that I'm not as strong as I used to be..." She crossed her arms in front of her, still waist-deep in the water. "I'm scared, too, and I'm confused, and of course I'm worried..." She looked away from Cloud again, feeling strangely embarrassed for sharing her feelings with him so easily.

"Tifa..." He stood back on his feet, wading over to her and reaching out to touch her bare shoulder. He had been touching her so much today... "I guess I'm upset, too. Or, I'm angry, I guess." His fingers trailed down her arm slowly, prompting goosebumps to pop up along her skin. "But right now, I'm just glad you're safe. I'm so relieved..." His hand found hers, and then his other hand did the same. "And you're still strong, Teef. You're the strongest person I know. Both physically and mentally."

Tifa shook her head. "No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are." He said it so sincerely, his eyes glowing intensely blue. Tifa could still see the green outline of where the Mako had tainted his irises. "I wish I could be more like you, sometimes. You're so strong and collected and you always know just what to say."

Tifa frowned. "But you're strong and collected too, Cloud."

He shook his head. "Maybe... Not so much." He pulled her deeper into the water, and Tifa allowed it, until it was reaching up to their necks. Their hands were still clasped below the surface of the lake.

"Tifa... You said last night that you've been thinking about a lot of things..." Tifa gulped. "Well, I've been thinking about a lot of things, too..."

_Cloud is acting... different._

He continued talking without a response from the brunette. "I don't like the person I used to be, Tifa. The person I've been. I'm only just now figuring out who I really am. Who I really _want_ to be. It's taken me a long time, but I think I'm starting to understand, now." Tifa was silent, drinking in his every word. "I've got a lot of problems. Everyone knows that." He shook his head. "But I want to be proactive about those problems, and work past them. I don't want to sit around and sulk anymore. I don't want to sit around and wait for the people I care about to get hurt. So what if a giant behemoth attacked us today? So what if something bigger and stronger attacks us tomorrow? As long as I can keep you and the kids safe, then they can throw whatever monster or SOLDIER they want at me."

"Cloud..."

"The old me would have ran away, wouldn't he? Like a coward. Well, not this time." He squeezed Tifa's hands under the muddy water, pulling himself closer to her. "You want me to stay and fight... Even if it puts you and the kids into danger? That's what you really want, right?"

Tifa nodded a little too enthusiastically. "Y-Yes, that's what I want..."

"Then I'll just have to protect all of you if trouble comes your way. If you're put in danger because of me, I'll just fight harder. I won't let anyone or anything hurt you or Denzel or Marlene. I don't care about my own problems anymore, Tifa. They don't matter. The only thing that does matter is my family."

Tifa frowned and shook her head. No, they weren't the only things that mattered...

"Tifa?"

"Not just us, Cloud." He cocked his head, seemingly confused. "Remember... _You're_ part of this family, too. So you have to protect yourself as well. And you have to take care of yourself. And if you can't, then... I'll take care of you, instead."

Hesitantly, his hands released Tifa's and came out of the water to wrap around her shoulders, pulling her body close to his. "I know," he mumbled into her ear. Tifa's heart began to pound hard in her chest in that familiar fashion, but he pulled back and held her at arm's length after a moment too soon. He was looking at her far too intensely, almost like he was studying her. She felt very small and timid under his gaze, but paradoxically, she also felt excited and strong. "Did you get all the blood off?" he asked after what felt like an eternity. Tifa nodded her head wordlessly, cheeks pink and stomach fluttering. "Then let's go home."

They waded out of the water and Cloud redressed himself as Tifa pulled on her boots and squeezed her hair dry. Cloud's had already recovered its naturally gravity-defying style.

"Here, Teef," he said, tossing her a leather jacket from a bag on Fenrir. "It's still pretty overcast. It might get a little cold on the way home."

Tifa was cold and wet, but Cloud's warm body radiated heat through his damp sweater, and his thick leather jacket surrounded her and protected her from the wind. She tried to push the convoluted mess of thoughts and feelings out of her head, but she just couldn't. Holding onto Cloud was only making it more confusing, because she wanted nothing more than to stay that way and hold him forever, and she wasn't sure what he wanted in return.

_Aerith..._

The voice... In the church... If it had really been her, then she seemed to be encouraging her. But, encouraging her to do what, exactly?

_'You know exactly what you need to do...'_

The nightmares... The attacks... The sleeplessness and the restlessness... Was it all becoming too much? Was Cloud really so strong, so much stronger than her, or was he simply putting on an act? Was he about to break down?... And, why... Why did he keep touching her?

What _was_ he really thinking?...

**•** **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

They pulled up to the back of the 7th Heaven just in time for Tifa to open the bar, and Cloud turned the ignition off, pushing out the kickstand with his foot and pulling his other leg off the bike carefully, as not to hit Tifa. Instead of fully standing, though, he turned towards the shivering woman, who was still seated on Fenrir, and wrapped his arms under the leather jacket, pulling her into a standing position and holding her tightly to him.

"C-Cloud..." Her stomached fluttered nervously. He said nothing, and just hugged her tightly, burying his face in the side of her neck. Slowly, she began to shiver less violently as the warmth from Cloud's body enveloped hers.

"Go take a warm shower," he spoke softly into her ear. "I'll get the bar ready to open for you."

"O-Okay," she sputtered, unsure if she was still shaking from the cold or from her nerves. The blonde released her, flashing his eyes across her form before turning to poke around in the bags he kept attached to his bike. Though she acted like a nervous schoolgirl in Cloud's arms, Tifa felt a little empty without his touch.

"Oh," she uttered, suddenly remembering that her gloves were equipped with Cloud's possessions. "Your materia..."

"Keep it. Just in case."

"...Okay." Tifa smiled a little forcedly, her heart palpitating strongly in her chest, her mind swirling, and made her way inside the bar. Marlene, who had been writing something in the living area, immediately greeted her. Denzel looked up from the book he was reading.

"Tifa, why are you all wet? Did it rain?"

"Yes..." Tifa lied. It didn't feel good to lie to the little girl. "The rain came really hard in Midgar, and then it just stopped..." She turned her head away slightly, feeling guilty. It would be too hard to explain...

The child gave her an odd look, like she didn't believe what Tifa was saying. "Well, you're soaked!" she said after a moment. "And you kinda smell bad." Marlene wrinkled her nose up, turning and retreating back to the living room. Tifa ignored her comment, making her way upstairs silently. The barmaid showered for the second time in a day and dressed herself quickly, making no time to relax.

She came downstairs to find Cloud and the kids taking the upside-down chairs off of the tabletops and placing them on the ground. Marlene was back to chattering like normal, talking to Cloud about some TV show about chocobos that she had apparently watched earlier. Tifa noticed that Denzel was still being very quiet, though. Quieter than usual.

"I'm going to go get ready to head out," the swordsman announced, patting Marlene on the head as he passed her. Denzel's eyes were glued to Cloud as he made his way upstairs, presumably to shower, himself. Tifa busied herself with the day's stew that she had started earlier that morning, trying her best to keep control of her wandering thoughts. She wasn't sure how much more emotion, good or bad, she could handle in one day.

She finished the rest of her chores and turned the sign on the front of the bar to 'open', looking out the window only to see a familiar face walking up the street. A few moments later, a gangly, tawny-haired man swung the door open.

"Mornin'. Looks like I'm right on time."

"Good morning, Trent," Tifa said with a smile. "You off again today?"

"Nah, I gotta go in here pretty soon. Grocery store down the street's got some leaky pipes." He stuffed his hands in his pockets, wandering over to the bar and taking his usual stool. "Just thought I'd pop in for a drink or two before I get to work."

Tifa smirked. "You really shouldn't drink on the job, you know."

"If you had to deal with some of the crap I've seen, you'd drink on the job too."

Tifa had to resist making a smartass comment about "literal crap", and she giggled to herself quietly. Trent was great for distracting conversation, and that's exactly what she needed. Distraction.

"Mornin' Mr. Denzel, Miss Marlene," the plumber drawled, smiling at the two, now very quiet, children.

"Good morning," they said in unison, a hint of shyness tingeing both of their voices. Tifa thought it was odd that Marlene felt shy around Trent. Denzel, not so much, but Marlene - she usually loved talking to the barmaid's customers, and he had been there pretty often recently.

The kids went back into the living room while Tifa poured Trent a glass of Corel wine; Marlene was now scribbling hurriedly across whatever she had been writing earlier, and Denzel only seemed to be pretending to read, sneaking glances over his book that he thought Tifa wouldn't see. After a couple of minutes of making casual conversation, Tifa heard Cloud returning down the stairs, his heavy boots making his presence known before she could see him.

"Oh, _you're_ here," Trent said, obviously surprised. Tifa bit her lip. "Aren't you usually gone by now?"

Cloud shot the man an icy look, his lips forming a tight line.

"Oh man, I'm sorry. I've forgotten my manners," the customer said, laughing weakly. "I haven't even said 'good morning' to you yet, and I'm just asking you questions out of the blue..." He stood up, extending his hand to the blonde. "Good to see you again, Cloud."

The swordsman accepted the handshake stiffly, nodding his head once. "I was actually just getting ready to leave. Got some business to tend to."

"Lots of business for a man who's always busy. I hear ya." Trent laughed heartily, but Cloud narrowed his eyes infinitesimally. "What dangerous lands are you headed off to today?"

"Got a couple of places I need to visit."

"Going into the big city? I'm sure Midgar's still got plenty of payin' customers. Then again, that hunk of ruins only seems to be housing the homeless these days. Maybe Junon is a better bet."

"Don't know."

"Well, what about those new villages that have been popping up? You ever deliver out there?"

"I go where I am needed."

"Is that so?" Trent sat back down at the bar, taking a gulp of his wine. "Well, let a pal know if anyone out there needs a plumber, would ya? I've been looking to expand my business."

"I thought you worked for someone else's company?"

Maybe Tifa was just imagining things, but she swore that Cloud's question was laced with a hint of maliciousness, and Trent's expression seemed more like a condescending sneer than a smile. She made herself busy by waxing the wooden bar, even though it was already shiny and clean.

"I'm a contractor. I work by my own rules, Cloud. A little bit like you."

A tense moment passed before Cloud spoke up, and Tifa nearly jumped when he said her name.

"Tifa, could I talk with you for a second?" He jerked his head towards the kitchen.

"S-Sure... Excuse us, Trent." Tifa smiled politely at the man. Trent gulped down some more wine, and Tifa followed Cloud wordlessly, glancing at Marlene and Denzel as she passed the living area. They were both listening intently. "What's up?" she asked, trying her best to sound casual. Cloud stepped towards her slowly, matching her steps until they were in the furthest back corner of the kitchen. Tifa's heart was beating wildly in her chest again.

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to go see Reeve again today." His voice was low. "I'm going to tell him what happened to us. Maybe then he'll let me know if he's hiding anything."

Tifa gulped and nodded her head. "Yeah, that's a good idea."

"And..." The blonde leaned forward, bringing his face close to Tifa's ear. "Don't tell that guy anything. I don't trust him."

"Cloud-" she began to object. She hadn't planned on telling him any of their business anyway, but...

He leaned back, though his face was still close to hers. Tifa felt the familiar heat beginning to creep into her cheeks as piercing blue eyes locked on auburn. "Please?"

 _Please?_ That was the closest to begging Cloud ever got. Tifa relented and nodded. "Don't worry. I wasn't going to anyway."

With that, Cloud's demeanor changed and his shoulders visibly relaxed. "Thank you..." In one easy motion, he had both of Tifa's hands in his.

_There he goes again... Touching me so easily now, when only a few days ago..._

"Please be careful while I'm gone."

Tifa had never seen a more earnest look in those Mako-tainted eyes. Tifa bravely grasped the blonde's hands more tightly.

"I will. I'll keep Marlene and Denzel safe, too. I'm not going anywhere today."

"Good... Because..." He shook his head, seeming to be having trouble speaking, like he always did when he had something important that he wanted to say. "You worry so much about me, but, you know... I worry about you too." His words were soft and his eyes were softer. "So... Be safe."

Tifa smiled, feeling something warm and cozy well up in her heart, calming the rapid beat that had been thumping in her chest and quelling the uneasiness that she had felt only a few minutes beforehand. "I will."

"Good..." Cloud's hands slipped out of hers slowly, almost reluctantly, and his expression reverted back to that familiar, shy gaze. That boyish look that Cloud only seemed to give her, and her only. That look that made Tifa want to throw her arms around him and hold him tightly. Protect him. Love him.

_Stop it..._

"I'll be home as soon as I can tonight."

"Cloud, you don't have to rush yourself..."

"No, Tifa. I'm not rushing. I want to come home." His cheeks flushed a pale shade of pink. "I honestly don't want to leave. But I need to, so I'll try my best to hurry."

Tifa's cheeks tinted rosy as well. "I'll have dinner waiting for you when you get home, then." She smiled up at him, genuinely this time, and he smiled back with his tiny, barely-there grin.

"Thanks." Their eyes stayed locked for a moment longer, and something passed between them; something that they had communicated to each other many times before, through their eyes, and not through their words. Cloud cleared his throat, his cheeks glowing a little brighter, and turned to exit the kitchen. Tifa stayed behind, holding onto the lingering feeling of Cloud's hands enveloping hers.

_That's just how he had looked at me when..._

The brunette shook the thought out of her head. How many times would she have to tell herself to give it up already? Cloud had made in painfully clear in the past that he didn't want her _like that_ anymore.

_Because he thought he was hurting you._

_No_ , she argued with herself. _Because he loved Aerith, and I... was a mistake._

"Denzel, Marlene, I'm leaving." She could just barely hear his quiet voice over the sound of the television and the simmering stew that gurgled on the stovetop. "I probably won't be back by the time you're both asleep, but I'll try to hurry home anyway."

"Bye, Cloud," came Marlene's girlish voice. Denzel's "Goodbye" was even quieter, and Tifa finally came out of the kitchen to witness Cloud giving both of the kids hugs. He didn't look frightened to do so anymore. He turned and noticed Tifa standing at the doorway. "Trent." He nodded at the customer politely, and Trent nodded back, though she was still sure she could see some sort of crackling electricity between them. She didn't know why, and really, she wasn't sure why Cloud didn't trust him, either. Trent was a good person, and she would even call him a friend... But Cloud had always been slow to trust others, and he wasn't very close with the people that he called 'friends'.

A couple of customers filtered into the bar just as the swordsman was preparing to leave, and Tifa greeted them with a smile. She looked at Cloud and smiled at him, too, even though she felt like her chest could burst open at any moment. "I'll see you tonight!" she called after him, worried that he wouldn't say anything before disappearing through the front door. It was stupid, but if he didn't tell her 'goodbye' like he usually did, now, she thought she might cry.

He looked at her, though, with that piercing cerulean gaze, the gaze that had struck fear into the hearts of men and monsters alike, and not with his soft eyes that were seemingly reserved for only her to see. "See ya, Teef," he said simply, and with that, he was gone. Gone until probably late in the night, after the kids would be in bed and after Tifa would have stayed up for hours trying to distract her mind with unnecessary cleaning and uninspiring books. The roar of Fenrir's engine could be heard a few moments later, and Tifa got to work, tending to pouring her customers' drinks and preparing a few bowls of stew for them and the kids, as well. Trent was quiet, and he sipped on his wine thoughtfully.

Time passed slowly, and Tifa wasn't busy enough. Marlene and Denzel were still being unusually quiet and untalkative. They ate their lunches quickly, and the barmaid's simple questions of "Whatcha reading?" and "Whatcha writing?" were given simpler responses: "my science textbook" and "a letter". Marlene wouldn't even tell her who the letter was for, but she could only assume it was for Barret. She gave up and left them to their own devices, wandering into the garage and checking on the brews. Yep, everything was in working order. She would have fresh beer out by dinnertime.

The minutes ticked by like hours, and Tifa tapped her fingers on the bar anxiously, leaning the weight of her body against the cool, wooden surface.

"Everything alright?"

Trent's voice floated to her slowly, pulling her from her messy thoughts that threatened to consume her like quicksand.

"I don't like when it's this slow around here," she admitted.

"Fewer customers, less money?"

"No, that's not it..." She pulled her own little barstool out from under her side of the bar, and sat on it across from the plumber. She noticed that her customers were getting close to finishing their meals.

"You just like to keep busy," he observed.

"...Yeah."

"But it's not because you're a naturally busy person, is it?"

"...I don't know." No, maybe he was right. When Tifa was younger, she had enjoyed living a relatively slow-paced life. Things had just... changed.

"Talking helps." Trent gulped down the rest of his wine, and Tifa gave him a surprised look. "You like to talk," he pointed out, noting her expression. "I'd come in here and talk to you every day if I could. Talk as long as you'd like. When you're not busy, of course."

"O-Oh..." She didn't know why; maybe it was just the way he had said it, but _that_ had thrown her off-guard. She felt her face heat up, confused as to why, and jumped at the chance to get up and clear her customers' dishes. Tifa noticed, all too clearly now, that Trent was studying her from the corner of his eye as she rang up the customers' bill. They left, and the bar fell far too quiet again. Only the muffled sound of the television could be heard.

"Marlene, Denzel..." she called softly, still taken aback by Trent's comment and unsure of what to say to him. Their heads popped up when she entered the doorway of the living area. "Have you gotten all of your homework done for the weekend?"

"Yes ma'am," they replied in unison. They only used 'ma'am' when they were in trouble.

"You can start calling me 'Tifa' again, guys. You're not in trouble anymore."

"But I thought we were grounded all weekend?" Denzel asked.

"You both cleaned the bar this morning and got all your homework finished. I think that's enough punishment for now. Just... promise me you won't get into anymore fights."

"We promise!" Marlene chirped, holding her hand up in an 'I swear' motion.

"Promise," Denzel nodded.

"So... is it okay if we go outside and play?" Marlene's wide eyes were finally full of cheer, and Tifa didn't want to tell her 'no', but with everything that had happened in the past few days...

"Marlene, I don't know if that's such a good idea..."

"Why not? You said we aren't grounded anymore, right?"

"Yes, but..." She sighed, giving in far too easily. "Alright, you two can go out and play. _But_ , I want you to stay in our neighborhood. Don't go past the grocery store. Do you understand?"

"Yes," the kids replied in unison.

"And come _straight home_ in two hours. I need your help getting ready for the dinner rush, anyway." She didn't, really. But those two hours were going to drive her crazy with worry. She didn't want them gone for any longer.

"Okay!" Marlene seemed perfectly fine with this compromise, and Tifa felt a bit relieved. The little girl grabbed her letter off of the table and dashed for the door.

"Marlene, don't you want to leave that here? I'll hold onto it for you."

She shook her head. "I have to deliver this to someone."

"In this neighborhood?"

"Yeah, he lives nearby."

"Okay..." Tifa tried not to question Marlene's antics. As long as she was being safe and following Tifa's rules, then whatever else she did didn't matter too much.

Denzel wandered into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, pulling out the apple juice that he had made that morning. "Marlene, wait on Denzel..." Tifa called.

"I'll just be right outside!"

The brunette entered the kitchen as well, stirring the stew that simmered on low heat on the stovetop.

"Everything okay, Denzel?" She bit her lip; the boy was much more closed off to her than he was to Cloud. He didn't say anything for a moment, and held the large jug of juice in his hand, his back turned to her.

"It didn't rain today."

"...What?"

"It didn't rain today. I watched the weather on TV this morning. It didn't rain in Midgar."

"...Oh." It was all Tifa could say. Denzel knew that she had lied. He was too smart for his own good.

"Cloud's told me before why he comes home wet sometimes. It's for Marlene's sake. He always said it rained, too. But it usually hadn't."

"Denzel..."

"I know what it means." He turned and faced her, then, and he suddenly looked far older and more mature than Tifa wanted to admit, even with a jug of juice in his hand that was almost as big as his torso. "I want to know what happened."

"Denzel... Sweetie..." Tifa shook her head. "It's nothing to worry about, really."

The boy averted his gaze and turned to put the juice away. "But... I know that something bad happened. And Cloud is..." He turned back, looking Tifa directly in the eyes. "...Both of you have been acting weird. Marlene's noticed, too. She just won't say anything."

Tifa sighed heavily. Both Marlene and Denzel had easily seen right through them. Somehow, it made her feel like a bad parent. Maybe they were old enough to understand. Maybe they needed to know the truth.

"Denzel..." Tifa crouched down and placed both of her hands lovingly on Denzel's shoulders. "Tomorrow... When Cloud is home... We'll talk. We'll talk and we'll tell you everything you want to know. Okay?"

The boy nodded, looking down. "Okay."

"Go catch Marlene before she runs off too far. I'm serious about you two staying in the neighborhood."

"I know."

Tifa hugged him, and he left, leaving his cup of juice behind. Tifa sipped at it, coming back into the main bar area. There were no other customers there, save for Trent, who she had almost forgotten was sitting there. Waiting on her.

"I'm sorry I took so long. Do you want another glass?"

"It's no problem," he waved his hand, smiling. "And sure. I've still got some time."

Tifa filled his glass, blushing again as she did so. She felt awkward.

"Did you... hear our conversation?" She couldn't help but ask.

"What, you and Denzel's? Nah, I was watching the news in there." He pointed at the TV, just barely visible from his seat at the bar. "Apparently the WRO is going to make a big public announcement soon."

"The WRO..." Tifa echoed. "What kind of announcement?"

"Didn't say. Just said the head of the WRO would give a public speech in a day or two."

"Hmm..." Tifa sipped on her glass of juice again, lost in thought.

"You sure are out of it today, aren't you?"

"Huh?" she responded stupidly.

"I think you've been keeping yourself _too_ busy. Maybe you need to take a break."

Tifa returned her attention to Trent, and laughed quietly. "I'm not big on taking breaks."

"I can tell."

Just then, the front door of the bar burst open, and Marlene rushed inside, right through the bar, running up the stairs two at a time.

"Mar-?"

"I forgot something important!"

She was back down in a flash. "Hold it!" Tifa commanded, standing up. "What are you in such a rush for?"

"Tifa, there's no time to explain!" Tifa's motherly stance, hands on hips, said otherwise. "Okay, look," Marlene began, breathless. "I wrote this letter to the boy who bullied me yesterday, telling him that I apologize for slapping him and I want to be friends. And I made him this really cool friendship necklace out of bottle caps, and I have to give it to him with the letter so that he knows I'm serious!"

Tifa relented, and smiled. "Alright, well go, then! Hurry! And _stick with Denzel!"_

"Okay!" she said, rushing out the door again.

_"Be back in less than two hours!"_

"Okayyyy!" The door slammed hard behind the child. Tifa shook her head and slowly paced to the other end of the bar.

"That girl is gonna drive me insane," she joked.

Trent laughed. "I think you're doing a good job. Raising them, I mean."

Tifa flushed slightly again. "Thank you." It was a sincere compliment, and Tifa took it to heart. Sometimes she wondered how good of a "mother" she actually was.

"Does Cloud help with them a lot?" The man scratched his beard, playing his tone off as casual.

"...Yeah," Tifa responded hesitantly. "He's gone a lot for work, but Marlene and Denzel love Cloud. They look up to him. He's their hero."

"Do you think he's a good influence on them, though?"

Tifa gave him a questioning look. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well..." Trent seemed hesitant to speak. "It's not really my place to say, but the guy is kinda... _strange_ , don'tcha think?"

Tifa blinked, taken aback and for some reason, slightly offended. "' _Strange'?"_ she repeated.

"Well... yeah," he continued, sipping his wine. "I know it sounds harsh, but I can tell the guy's got some issues. He gives me a bad vibe. I don't know... I just wonder if he's good for the kids at all. If he's good for _you_."

Tifa frowned and crossed her arms. She wasn't sure why, but she felt _angry_. Really, really angry.

"Cloud is a good person," she stated matter-of-factly. "He's my best friend. And I'm sorry that you don't understand him like I do. But he's a good guy. A great guy. He's the hero of Gaia, for Ifrit's sake!"

"Okay, okay, I get it..." Trent took another hearty gulp of his drink. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything..."

Tifa uncrossed her arms and busied herself by waxing the end of the immaculate bar, perhaps a little too forcefully. "It's fine."

"No, no, it's not..." Trent finished his drink, setting it down on the bar gently. "I'm sorry. Let's talk about something else."

"Like what?" Her words dripped with venom.

_Why am I so angry?_

Trent breathed in deeply, folding his hands together on top of the bar. "...I don't know," he said quietly.

Tifa dropped the rag on the bartop and strode into the kitchen, fumbling with the dirty dishes that were left by the customers that had come in earlier. She just needed a moment to cool down. She didn't understand her anger... Maybe she was being irrational. So much had happened in one day, and her emotions were on high.

 _It's just that... I never really considered the fact that some people would think Cloud is 'strange'. Ever since he..._ came back _, after we fell into the Lifestream..._

_I saw the deepest parts of his soul that day. It feels like a distant memory now... So much has changed in just a few years' time..._

_But I always thought... That Cloud was just, Cloud._

The dishes were washed and dried quickly, and Tifa moved her attention to the always-simmering stewpot.

 _The truth is, though, that he_ does _have problems. He even admitted it himself. He admitted it to me... Does that make him 'strange'?_

_And... Does it matter? Even if it does... Is it bad that I don't care?_

_Maybe... I'm 'strange', too..._

Tifa sighed, and grabbed two bowls down from the cupboard, heaping a ladle of stew into each one.

"Here," she said gently after walking back behind the bar. "On the house... Sorry for the way I acted."

"No, I'm the one who should be apologizing," Trent replied, accepting the bowl of food. "Maybe I just need to get to know Cloud a little better. But I shouldn't just talk badly about your friend like that..." He smiled up at her as she took her seat across the bar. "This smells delicious. Thanks."

They ate in relative silence for a short time, Tifa lost in her own thoughts, and Trent paying absent mind to the repeating news on the television station. By the time Tifa had finished her meal, a few more customers had wandered in. She catered to them with a false sense of joy. She was glad to have a little less silence in the bar, at least, and she was always perpetually thankful for anything that distracted her thoughts, even just the tiniest bit.

"Hey, Tifa," Trent called after some time. He had been sitting there quietly, and hadn't ordered another drink. He slid his gil across the bar to her, a solid tip included, and stood up. "Guess it's about time for me to get going. I've probably stayed in here longer than I need to anyway."

"Well, you know you're welcome back anytime, Trent. It's always nice to have your company." She smiled at him, and he smiled back, lingering for a moment. He seemed like he wanted to say something.

"Trent?"

He scratched his scruffy chin thoughtfully. "Tifa... You ever think about getting out of this place? Even for just a day?"

"...I don't know," she admitted, suddenly feeling self-conscious. She folded her hands together and began to twist her ring nervously. She really didn't get out much, and now, she was almost afraid to. She did, however, miss the days where she would close the bar on Sundays, just so that her, Cloud, and the kids could spend time together. She didn't feel the need to 'get out' when she was able to have those breaks like that. She was certain, though, that those days off were only enjoyable because she got to spend them with Cloud and the children.

"What if I took you out for a day?"

_...WHAT?_

Tifa's thought somehow slipped through her lips, and she looked at the man across from her, astonished.

"What I mean to say is... Would you like to go out on a date with me?"

It took a few seconds for Tifa to respond, but it felt like an eternity, an eternity of her just standing there, looking at him stupidly. "O-Oh, I really don't think... It's just that... I'm always so busy... I have to keep the bar open because I need the money, and the kids... I have to watch the kids, you know..." Trent's face fell, and he seemed to deflate, losing the sense of confidence he must have had only moments ago. "Oh, I'm so sorry Trent, but I just can't... Maybe... Maybe, some other time..."

"...I understand. You, uh... Have a good day. I'll see ya." He turned and left, and Tifa called after him, but he didn't respond. She was still in shock as a customer called for her to get his table refills. She stumbled through her work awkwardly.

_I knew it... No, I didn't know it... How can I be so blind to these sorts of things?_

When it came to the sleazy men of Midgar who were only interested in her body, Tifa could see exactly what they wanted from a mile away. She had become attuned to that. But when a guy was genuinely interested in her, she was oblivious.

 _Just like with Cloud... When he..._ Used _to have feelings for me..._

Tifa hurried to the kitchen. The tears were coming too quickly, and before she knew it, she was silently crying in the corner of the room, thankfully out of sight of her customers.

_Stupid... Stupid reason to cry..._

She chastised herself harshly. Her mind was spinning, and she felt sick. What was she supposed to think? Of _course_ she couldn't go on a date with Trent, or any other man for that matter. How could she, when she was so deeply in love with someone else? Someone else who didn't return her feelings? Someone she didn't deserve, anyway? Someone he would never love, in that way. Never again.

Tifa wiped the tears from her cheeks angrily. She deserved this. She deserved to feel confused and hurt and tired and heartbroken. This is what she had earned. This was her punishment. Still, there was a tiny voice in the back of her mind, so tiny that it could only whisper little thoughts into her ear. _Maybe it's time to move on,_ it said. _Just like you had told Cloud to move on, maybe it's time for you, too._

_A date... A date with a friend... A date with a nice guy... A guy who's interested in me... A guy who's here..._

_A guy who isn't Cloud. A guy who doesn't like Cloud. A guy who doesn't understand why I care so much about Cloud... A guy who really doesn't understand me._

_...There's just no way. No way I could date anyone right now. Maybe... No way I could ever date anyone._

_When all I can think about... Is him._

**•** **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

The lunch rush hadn't been much of a rush at all, and Tifa swore she was about to either combust or go crazy from having so little to do and so much on her mind. She even found herself flipping through the TV channels, most of which were hard to view through the static, or simply weren't airing any content anymore. It only sorely reminded Tifa of how much not only her life, but also the lives of everyone on the Planet, had changed.

The little bell jingled on the front door of the bar, and Tifa was relieved to hear Denzel call out, "Tifa, we're home" a few minutes before their two-hour mark had passed. They both came into the living room and sat on opposite sides of the barmaid on the old couch. Marlene looked upset.

"He broke the necklace," she said before Tifa had a chance to ask. "And said he never wants to be friends with me." She was looking down at her lap, her voice low and uncharacteristically bitter.

"Oh, sweetheart..." Tifa cooed, wrapping her arms around the child and pulling her into her lap. "I'm so sorry. Some people are just... mean. No matter how hard you try to be nice to them."

"I know that, now." The words sounded far too mature for the young child, and Denzel reflected Marlene in his thoughtful expression appearing too old and wise for his age. Tifa didn't want them to learn hard life lessons like this. She didn't want to sit down with them tomorrow and talk to them about the fact that they were all in danger, either. No, she wanted them to just be sweet, happy, innocent children forever. But that wasn't how the world worked.

They stayed cuddled up for a while; even Denzel decided to rest his head against Tifa's shoulder, and she was thankful for the affection. They watched some lame cartoons while the bar stayed empty, the channel fuzzing in and out from time to time due to the lack of signal. Tifa finally got up from the couch after some time, leaving the children to quietly watch whatever show was on now. She walked around the front of the bar and peeked out the windows. There weren't even a lot of people walking around today, let alone coming in to eat and drink.

She stood there pointlessly, feeling a sense of numbness begin to take over her. Too many emotions and thoughts were slowly starting to turn into nothingness and blank-mindedness. She pulled out her rarely-used cell phone, looking at the blank screen. _No new notifications._ Just as blank as she was feeling, now. But she had an urge, an urge that she only fought for a short time before giving in. _Hey_ , she wrote in a text message, only pausing for a moment before pressing the _send_ key.

She walked back through the kitchen and into the garage, and began to bottle some of the brew she had crafted. A job. A task. Mindless, maybe, but better than doing nothing. She was zoned out completely, her mind transforming into something beaten and tired, too tired to think anymore. It surprised her, then, to hear a loud buzzing come from her pocket.

 _Hey, everything okay?_ Cloud had written back.

She had texted him for no reason, something she had probably never done before. Even in the past, she had at least had the excuse of saying that she was worried about him and wanted to check on him. But this time, she had only texted him simply because she wanted to talk with him. About nothing. About anything. It really didn't matter.

 _Yeah, it's just really slow today,_ she responded. _The kids seem bored... Marlene is a little sad... Nothing to do around here when it's like this._

Perhaps this was a stupid idea; Tifa didn't want to bother Cloud, since he was probably busy, and surely he had a lot on his mind, just like she did... But once again, he responded.

_Same for me. I'm waiting to see Reeve now. He's got someone else in his office._

_Oh..._ she wrote out, before erasing it completely. She didn't know what to say back to him, and she set her phone down on the shelf beside her, sighing heavily. To her surprise, it buzzed again, just as soon as she had set it down.

_Maybe you could play a game with Marlene and Denzel? It'll at least keep them entertained..._

_... A game? Like what?_ she responded, keeping her phone in her hand now, completely stopped in the work she had been doing.

_Go Fish is always a winner._

Slowly, very slowly, a grin spread across Tifa's face, and then soon enough, she was giggling uncontrollably. She relished in the feeling of laughter, allowing it to bubble up and take place of the numbness she had succumbed to only a little while ago.

 _You just keep surprising me again and again,_ she bravely texted back, stopping her brew work completely and deciding that she liked Cloud's idea. Maybe she was going crazy. She didn't know anymore. What she _did_ know, though, was that she was about to rile both of the kids out of the slump that they had fallen into. Her own sorrows be damned.

"Marlene! Denzel!" she called, coming back inside the bar and stepping inside the living area. "Let's do something fun to cheer us all up. How about I make us a snack and we play a game?"

"A game?" Denzel echoed.

"Uh-huh," Tifa said brightly. "There's no customers coming in right now, and I don't want you two looking so down in the dumps. Come on, it'll be fun!"

Cloud's idea had worked out well. Marlene and Denzel were both soon helping Tifa make peanut butter sandwiches in the kitchen, and with a little effort on Tifa's part, they were talking about the fun stuff they were going to do for her birthday party. Another buzz from the barmaid's phone had caused her to stop in the middle of making her own sandwich.

_I hope that's a good thing._

She smiled. _It definitely is. And your plan worked great. Denzel and Marlene are feeling much better now._

 _I'm glad,_ he replied almost instantly.

"Tifa, who are you texting?" Marlene's unsure voice had asked an innocent question, but for some reason, it caused Tifa to blush, just the slightest bit.

"...Cloud," she stated simply. Marlene's mouth made a little "o" shape, and she resumed spreading the peanut butter on her sandwich without further questioning. Just as Tifa was about to finish making her food, the bar's phone rang loudly, and she unintentionally dropped the butterknife that she had been holding with slightly shaky hands. "I'll get it!" she announced, ignoring the pounding of her heartbeat and rushing out to the bar. "Strife Delivery Service! You name it, we deliver it!" she greeted the unknown caller.

"TIIIIFAAAAA!" boomed a jubilant voice on the other end of the line.

"Barret!?"

"TIFA! It's me, Barret!" her boisterous friend shouted. "We're comin' home! Me and Cid, we're comin' to see all of you!"

"Tifa! Tifa!" Marlene called excitedly, running out of the kitchen. "Tifa! Is that Papa?!"

"Yes, sweetie, one sec-"

"Marlene! Is that my little Marlene?! Let me talk to my baby!" Barret cried.

"Tifa! Hand me the phone!" the little girl pleaded.

"Wait, one second!" Tifa laughed. "Barret, when are you two coming down?"

"Tomorrow! Me and Cid will be there in his airship by tomorrow night!"

"Papa! Papaaaaa!" Marlene's voice sing-songed.

"That's great, Barret!" Tifa replied. "But I'm gonna hand the phone to Marlene now, she's literally bouncing up and down to talk to you." The little girl practically snatched the phone from Tifa's hand and began yelling back just as loudly as Barret had.

"Papaaaaa! Papa, I missed you!"

"I missed you too, baby girl!" Tifa could hear the man's impressively loud voice from several feet away.

She shook her head and laughed, feeling much lighter than she had only fifteen minutes ago. She took her phone out of her pocket once more, texting Cloud, _Barret just called. Cid's bringing him on his airship tomorrow night. Marlene is jumping with joy._

"Barret's coming?" Denzel's much quieter voice came from kitchen doorway. Tifa walked over to him, bent down, and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, smiling at him.

"Mm-hmm," she hummed. "Our friends Barret and Cid and going to be here tomorrow night. You'll finally get to meet them!"

Denzel seemed to think for a moment, before turning his attention to the loudly-chattering girl that was currently skipping around the bar. "Marlene looks happy," he noted. Tifa nodded.

"I'm happy, too."

"What about Cloud?"

"Cloud..." Tifa's smile fell slightly, though she tried to keep up her happy appearance.

_Cloud's going to feel..._

Just then, another buzz. Tifa opened the message, her breath catching in her throat as she read it.

_That's great. Can't wait to see them._

Tifa smiled and tucked the phone back in her pocket, patting Denzel's wavy hair. "Cloud's happy, too. Everyone's going to have a lot of fun." The boy smiled and ran off, chasing Marlene around the bar. Tifa watched with a huge grin on her face as they giggled like the innocent children that they still were. She felt happy, even after everything she had been through in one day's time. And yet, there was something else brewing inside of her. Something more somber and cynical.

_Cloud... I really hope you're happy... I hope you're not hiding how you really feel... For our sake..._

_For mine._


	7. Try

Cloud was seated in a cramped break room at the WRO headquarters, the neon glow of the vending machine and a fake potted plant his only company. At least it was better than sitting in the downstairs lobby, where instead of being surrounded by adoring fans like he had been the previous day, he was given fearful glances and concerned, hushed whispers. Unsure of which was worse, he had politely asked the front desk clerk to take him somewhere 'quieter' to wait. His body was still and outwardly calm, but his mind felt as though it were a pacing tiger, waiting impatiently to pounce on its prey. His mood was something bitter and distasteful, and every thought that seeped its way into his mind dripped like a toxin down the palette of his consciousness.

It had been a hell of a day. A hell of a _morning_ in only a few hours time. Cloud's chest was clenched tightly, his breaths tiny and constricted. His heart was wrapped up tensely in thin, taught wire, and everything was seemingly binding the strings ever tighter. Going to the church - a stupid idea, in hindsight, for he had only confirmed that the visions he had seen of his friends just two months prior were nothing more than mere delusions concocted by his sick, Geostigma-plagued mind - caused the strings to pull tighter. Fighting a mysterious, overpowered monster that could have hurt, if not killed, Tifa... Tighter again. Trent... Someone he didn't like, didn't trust, who made him want to spit at the ground. Someone who leered at Tifa like she was _his_ to look at, even though Tifa was never Cloud's to look at, either... The strings pulled taught and broke, causing the swordsman to exhale sharply in surprise to a loud vibration coming from his pocket.

_A text message?_

' _Hey_ '. A message from Tifa herself, and that was all that was written. Quickly, Cloud responded, afraid that something else had gone wrong in the short time he had been away from home. She wrote back soon after Cloud had asked if everything was okay.

_'Yeah, it's just really slow today. The kids seem bored... Marlene is a little sad... Nothing to do around here when it's like this.'_

Cloud exhaled slowly through his nose, incredibly thankful that Tifa was only texting him to talk, and not to share any more bad news.

 _Just to talk..._ The thought floated through his mind like a butterfly through Midgar's desolate ruins. A small flicker of hope. Of happiness.

 _'Same for me,'_ he responded. ' _I'm waiting to see Reeve now. He's got someone else in his office.'_

He allowed the heel of his foot to make three swift taps on the tile floor, an openly outward expression of the anxiety that was plaguing his entire body. He wanted to say _more_ , but he didn't know what to write. He never was good at talking, let alone carrying a conversation through text messages when his mind was moving a million miles an hour. He scratched at the back of his neck, desperate to find _something_ substantial to say to the woman he wanted to tell everything to.

 _Poor kids,_ he thought, rereading Tifa's message. _Things have been tough for them..._

Really, things had been tough for everyone. Denzel and Marlene deserved better than 'tough', though. They deserved a lot better.

 _'Maybe you could play a game with Marlene and Denzel?'_ he slowly typed out. ' _It'll at least keep them entertained...'_

He shook his head, disappointed in himself. What a lame suggestion... Of course Tifa had already thought to distract the kids with games or other tasks to cheer them up. Cloud supposed that he just wasn't very good at this... Whatever _this_ was. Small talk? Texting? It all just fell into the category of 'failure' for him, something that seemed to pile higher and higher all the time.

So when Tifa responded as if she hadn't thought of the idea, Cloud was surprised, and maybe a bit relieved. She had asked him what sort of game they should play; Cloud wasn't sure. He'd spent most of his time as a child playing alone.

 _'Go Fish is always a winner,'_ he finally responded. He sighed, leaning his head back against the wall and feeling his face lightly heat up.

_Idiot._

The wait was growing agonizing, as the receptionist still hadn't come to receive Cloud, and Tifa had quit responding for some time. Maybe she had taken his suggestion. A vision of Tifa, Denzel, and Marlene, all seated around a table and playing cards happily, entered Cloud's mind. He let the daydream settle and linger in his tired consciousness; it made him feel warm and cozy inside, much warmer than the cold, empty waiting room that he was sitting in.

His phone finally buzzed again, and he felt his stomach tremble nervously. Unsure of exactly why, he read Tifa's response and felt his stomach flip over completely, his face heating up red-hot as his mouth quirked upward.

_'You just keep surprising me again and again.'_

Cloud sat there, dumbfounded. It was such a simple thing to say, but the implications seemed... almost flirtatious? _No way,_ he decided. Maybe, Tifa really _did_ think he was an idiot. Cloud chuckled to himself quietly, running a hand through his golden spikes. He was surprised at his own reaction, but he felt his spirits lift substantially. Something about her was magical, enough so that she could make him laugh with a single sentence, make him smile with a single message, make him revert to a shy teenager in an instant. He wasn't sure if she knew that she had that power over him. And if she _did_ know... Well, there was just no way that she did.

 _'I hope that's a good thing.'_ He typed back, his face blushing as red as could be now, his shoulders hunching into himself and his hands cradling his phone like a fragile infant. Her response was enough to make him finally break out into a full smile.

 _'I'm glad'_ , he said. And he was. He was so, so very glad.

Time continued to slowly tick by, and Tifa had stopped writing for a little while. Cloud sighed. There was still no sign of the receptionist, and he was beginning to grow impatient again. He had a lot of errands to run today, and he wanted to get home as quickly as he could. His face dropped when he remembered the reason why he was here in the first place, and he stood up, pacing the tiny break room slowly. His phone buzzed once more, and Cloud opened the message immediately, eager to eat up every word that Tifa typed. What she had written this time, though, gave Cloud a confusing mixture of feelings: happy. Scared. Ecstatic. Aloof.

Barret and Cid were coming home. Coming to see them. Coming too soon for Cloud to be ready. Maybe, not coming soon enough. He silently chastised himself for feeling the way that he did.

_My friends..._

He wasn't ready to see them. And yet, somehow, he was. He didn't know why, but he missed Barret and Cid's loud, often passionately-angry conversations and banter. But still... He couldn't admit it to them. He couldn't even really admit it to himself. He was probably still better off alone, in the end.

He frowned. _'That's great. Can't wait to see them'_ , he replied half-truthfully. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he sighed once more, letting out a long and exhausted sigh. He wondered if he could ever tell Tifa how he really felt. How he was afraid and confused and didn't really know how to even spend time with the people that they called 'friends'. How he missed them, more than he had previously realized, and how he wished they were closer to each other. How he wished he were closer to Denzel and Marlene... How he wished he were closer to her. So much closer.

 _Shut up_ , he scolded himself. Stupid thoughts. Nothing to bother Tifa about - that was for sure. She had enough to worry about without him adding his own problems into the mix.

_Closer to her..._

"Mr. Strife?" Cloud's heart jumped, but his body was motionless. He turned his head to see the petite receptionist standing in the break room's doorway. She was smiling politely, though it looked forced. "Mr. Tuesti is ready to see you now."

"Thanks." He said flatly, still recovering from the heavy weight of his thoughts.

She nodded her head and disappeared from the doorway, and Cloud made to follow her to the elevator. She pressed the button to the top floor, and then to the first, and forced another polite smile in Cloud's direction. It felt awkward. For a few moments, Cloud was silent, until he couldn't take the uncomfortable pressure of the tiny, claustrophobic elevator any longer.

"Uhh... Sorry, by the way..."

"Hm?" The woman looked at him with mild confusion. Cloud scratched at the back of his neck nervously.

"I, uhh... Didn't mean to come off so harsh to everyone. When I was here yesterday. I'm just not used to all of that attention... Didn't really know how to handle myself." Cloud was a bit taken aback by his own honesty, but he felt a little better for apologizing.

The woman's face finally lit up into a genuine smile. "It's alright. I've heard enough about you to know that you're not _really_ a jerk. Despite some of the things Yuffie might say."

"...Yeah." After hearing from the receptionist the previous day, he didn't want to imagine what _else_ the little ninja girl might have told everyone.

"It must be pretty hard," the woman commented. "Being a celebrity, you know," she added.

 _A celebrity...?_ Yeah, that was pretty much the last thing Cloud ever wanted to be. But, at this point, he supposed that he was, whether he liked it or not. The woman in the jewelry shop had noticed him, though she hadn't recognized _how_ she knew him. But all those people in the lobby knew very well of whom he was, and they _admired_ him. Maybe. Or they were afraid of him. He wasn't sure which.

"...I'm not a fan of it," he responded after a moment. "It's definitely gonna take some getting used to."

The woman nodded and clasped her hands in front of her shyly, clearing her throat. "Tifa sure is one lucky girl," she said suddenly, her words wistful.

"Huh?" Cloud blinked, his cheeks tinting a pale shade of red once again.

"Oh!... It's nothing!" The receptionist placed her hand over her mouth, as if she regretted speaking. After a few silence-filled seconds, the 'ding' of the elevator caused the woman to jump. Cloud's heart skipped a beat from surprise as well, but outwardly, his muscles were still stiff-straight.

"Um... Thanks," he mumbled, exiting the elevator doorway.

"My pleasure!" the woman called after him.

The doors closed and Cloud was left standing at the end of the hall and feeling a bit stupid. _'Tifa sure is one lucky girl...'_ The words trailed after him as he strode down the long, narrow hallway. _Tifa..._ She was definitely lucky; hell, she always had luck on her side, it seemed. But... She wasn't lucky because of him. Far from it. He caused her more problems than anyone else. And yet... She remained at his side and dealt with those problems as they came, surprising Cloud each and every time she didn't kick him to the curb or just take the kids and leave. If anyone was lucky, he guessed, it was him.

The swordsman took a moment to gather his composure before approaching Reeve's office door. His fist had only knocked on the wooden door twice before it swung open and a smiling Reeve greeted him. Cloud shook his hand, as customary, and stepped inside, only to feel his eyes narrow dangerously towards the other, unexpected guest that was sitting in Reeve Tuesti's office.

"...Rufus," he said through unknowingly-gritted teeth.

"Cloud. So good to see you." The man stood, and moved to shake Cloud's hand. He obliged, though his eyes were deadlocked on the other man's threateningly. "You look... well," he politely lied, ignoring Cloud's expression. "Reeve and I were just finishing up, but I figured I'd stick around a moment longer to speak with you."

"I'm not interested in whatever you have to say."

The man looked taken aback for a brief moment, before chuckling quietly and shaking his head. "Cloud, I understand your distrust in me. And, frankly, I understand why you wouldn't even like me. But, you might want to hear me out this time. I've got some information on Deepground."

Cloud's eyes flashed a hint of interest, losing some of their steely gaze. "Deepground?"

"We believe that's the 'underground' faction of SOLDIERs that have been attacking you and Miss Lockhart."

Reeve had moved to his desk, taking his seat silently. "Please, Cloud," he said, peering at the blonde over his folded hands. "Listen to him."

He obliged, taking the leather chair opposite of Reeve's desk and looking squarely into Rufus's eyes. "Start talking."

With a nod, the former President of Shinra, Inc. began to speak. "I've been keeping a pretty low profile lately, ever since the incident two months ago. Playing the role of observer, watching and waiting to see if anything else would come from the Geostigma crisis. So of course, I've had my eyes and ears everywhere." He gestured with a grand sweep of his hand to emphasize his point. "I started receiving reports of unusual activity in Midgar a few weeks ago, but every person who reported information had very little detail to give. They would just say that they saw a strange monster, or a shifty-looking person making rounds around the city, before disappearing completely. When asked to follow these individuals, they..." He closed his eyes, and for a moment, he looked weary enough for Cloud to almost feel a tinge of sympathy for him. Almost.

"When they follow them," he continued,"...they don't come back. And we don't know where they go, either. All of their devices and phones go haywire, even cameras and microphones. It's like they try to follow them into their lair and they just disappear off the map completely."

"Wait..." Cloud furrowed his brows, thinking about each attack he and Tifa had dealt with over the past few days. The SOLDIERs who had attacked him, the man who had attacked Tifa, and the behemoth they had fought together... Were they all connected to this single organization called 'Deepground?'

"Reeve..." His eyes flashed to the man sitting across from him. "You know, don't you?"

Slowly, the head of the WRO nodded. "Yes. I know that you and Tifa were attacked on several occasions since we last talked. Rufus has been supplying me with all of the intel he receives."

Cloud gritted his teeth. _Why_ hadn't Reeve told him about this information in the first place?!

He took in a slow, deep breath, regaining his cool composure and refraining from addressing that problem for the moment. "What else do we know about the organization?" he asked.

"Well," Rufus continued, "not very much, to be honest. All we know is that they are stationed somewhere in Midgar. Somewhere underground, hence the name. We've yet to find them, and we're losing men in the process of looking."

"You're the former president of Shinra, and you don't know where any underground facilities are in Midgar?" he questioned, skeptical.

Rufus shook his head solemnly. "I only know what little information my father told me, and what any archives may hold. There's no known information on underground SOLDIER facilities in the city."

Cloud felt his brows furrow tighter, confused and angered by the lack of information he was receiving. "Do you at least know what Deepground _is?_ " he asked, his voice lightly tinged with derision.

"Yes... That, I do know..." The former company president lowered his head, his eyes downcast. "Though I don't know much, I do know the basic purpose of the Deepground facility. It was originally created as a medical lab for wounded SOLDIERs, but like everything else Shinra, Inc. has done, it was turned into something far worse. It was converted into an experimental lab, designed with the intention of creating stronger, better, and unwaveringly loyal SOLDIERs. What came out of it... Who knows. Monsters. SOLDIERs that were turned into monsters... Perhaps even regular men with the minds of monsters. From the looks of it, it seems like Deepground produces all three."

Cloud's eyes were narrowed, his fists clenching tightly, his mind deep in thought. "Maybe I should do some looking around Midgar," he suggested. "I can handle whatever comes out of the woodworks."

"That would be pointless, Cloud," Reeve interjected. "I've already sent teams of people to scout the entire city, and they've found nothing. No entrances, no traces of evidence from experimentation... Nothing."

"But they're not looking for your scouts, Reeve. They're looking for me."

"And that's all the more reason that you need to lay low and stay _away_ from Midgar for a while."

Cloud was beginning to feel irritated. "I'm not worried about getting hurt. It'll be better to lure them out and attack when they're out of their base. I can pick them off slowly and find a way inside."

" _No,_ Cloud!" Reeve slammed his fist on the desk abruptly. Cloud stared at him intensely, surprised by the action. "Don't you understand what sort of danger that will put everyone in?"

He shook his head, finally angry. "No, I don't understand. We're already in danger. I don't care about myself, but Tifa's been attacked. On her own. And I'm assuming it was because someone was looking for _me_."

Reeve sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Cloud... Strong as you are, we don't need you running around the city and making a big fuss right now. Have you noticed that you've been followed every time you've come into the city?"

"...Yeah," Cloud admitted after a few moments.

"And so far," Reeve continued, "we've collected almost no information. We don't know who's in charge, we don't know whatthey want to do with you, and we don't even know _how_ they learned about who you are. We don't know how they're sending out SOLDIERs and monsters, we don't know how they're communicating, and we don't know how people are disappearing. Sending you in would not only be a likely deathtrap, even for you, but it would be _stupid_. You should know better than anyone that you don't go charging into a trap blindly... You need to form a plan."

"I _know_ that, but people are getting hurt-"

"Cloud." Reeve held up his hand, silently asking the swordsman to stop speaking. He begrudgingly obliged. "We are working on it as quickly as he can," he said calmly. "Yuffie has hardly been sleeping, searching for summon materia as well as signs of unusual activity outside of Midgar. I have entire teams of people working covertly to search for and gather intel. Rufus is doing the same thing," he said, gesturing to the frowning man sitting off to his side. "We have people searching old books obtained from the wreckage of the Shinra libraries, and they are compiling information on a private online database as we speak. We're doing everything we can, Cloud. But _you,_ " he said pointedly, looking at Cloud with a serious, level gaze. "Right now, Cloud, I need _you_ to just... be patient. Wait. And be prepared to come as soon as we call on you. Until then..." He trailed off, his eyes begging Cloud to understand. But he didn't.

"...I'd like to speak with you privately for a moment, Reeve." He wasn't looking at either of the men anymore. His eyes were planted firmly on the ground.

"Of course," Rufus spoke, standing abruptly from his chair and clearing his throat. "Reeve, it's been very good talking with you," he said as he shook the WRO president's hand, whom stood from his chair as well. "Cloud," Rufus turned his attention to him, extending his hand again. Cloud stood and took it firmly. "It was good to see you as well. I'll be keeping in touch with both of you." With a final nod, he turned and left, leaving a chilling silence to settle throughout Reeve's modest office.

After moments far too long, Cloud finally looked into Reeve's eyes, feeling upset and confused. "Why are you asking me to stay out of this? Are you trying to protect me?"

Reeve sighed, shaking his head. "Not quite, but also... Yes, I guess." He folded his hands behind him, and began to pace. "What I said was true; it really would be irrational to send you in blindly to try and take down something that we know almost nothing about. But... I know that you would probably be more than capable of handling it, anyway." He paused in his steps, looking out the window. "I just want you to... Take a break, Cloud." He turned back, looking the blonde in the eyes. "Take some time to grow your business. Spend time with your family. Spend some time worrying about _yourself_ for a little while. You've done enough for now. When we need you, we'll call. But until then... I think it's time you took care of some of your own things, don't you think?"

Cloud was silent. He didn't know what to think.

"You've done _enough,_ Cloud," Reeve repeated. "And, from a tactical standpoint, if you lie low, it seems that they don't come out of hiding, and the frequency of the attacks lesson. We're doing everything in our power to figure this out. Just, please..." He clasped his hands together to emphasize his message. "Just give us some time."

Cloud breathed in deeply, trying to keep his cool. Maybe Reeve was right. But Cloud wasn't a "just lie low" type of guy.

"What about my deliveries in Midgar?" he asked, curious about the matter, but not nearly as concerned about it as Reeve might have thought.

"I figured you would ask that..." Reeve smiled, extending his arms outward. "We'd be happy to help with that issue. I have trucks that run through Midgar anyway. We could always load your deliveries with the rest of the cargo and send the gil to you. All free of charge, of course."

Cloud drew in a deep breath, filling up his lungs with the pungent scent of the lilac oil-warmer that was plugged into a random outlet. Much too strong for his taste. He sighed audibly, letting his chest deflate as the air left his lungs.

"You're not really concerned about the deliveries, though. Are you, Cloud?"

He shook his head 'no'. Simply put, he didn't care about deliveries at this point. His business be damned.

"Cloud..." Reeve walked closer to him, leveling his gaze with the swordsman's. "I'm coming to you, not as the Head of the WRO, or as an associate, or even as an ally in battle... I'm coming to you as a friend."

_A friend..._

"I'm sorry that I kept everything hidden away from you..." the man continued. "It was wrong of me, and it's not my place to keep you, or anyone else, in the dark. I can't tell you what to do. I can only ask that you take care of yourself, and give my words some thought. And if you'll give me that, then I'll be happy." He smiled, a genuine but exhausted expression, the bags under his eyes sagging considerably. Maybe... Maybe Reeve was just as tired as he was.

"I guess... If it would be bad strategy..." Cloud averted his gaze. "I'll stay out of Midgar… for now." Cloud found Reeve's eyes again, noticing the relief wash down his features. "But I can't make any other promises," he warned. Reeve nodded, understanding. Cloud extended his hand in agreement. "...Commander." In comradery. In friendship.

"Heh, 'Commander'..." the older man chuckled. "Still not used to hearing that... Oh, one more thing, Cloud..." Reeve pulled a fancy-looking card from his jacket pocket. It read _World Regenesis Organization Gala_ in cursive letters. Cloud glanced up at the head of the WRO, taking the card from his hands. "We've got some announcements to make, and we've never gotten the chance to celebrate the finding of our organization until now. You, Tifa, and anyone else you'd like to bring are invited... Plus, with everything that has been happening lately... We could use the extra security."

Cloud nodded, stuffing the card in his back pocket. "Alright."

"You know... I know you and Tifa are busy running your own businesses, but... If either of you are ever interested in formally joining the WRO... Well, just give me a call."

Cloud nodded once more. The older man halted him as he made to leave the office. Cloud turned, and Reeve's hand fell from his shoulder slowly. He opened his mouth to speak, before closing it and chuckling quietly. "I heard someone's birthday is coming up soon. Give her my regards, will you?"

The faintest tinge of pink painted his features as Cloud nodded. "Will do." He turned to leave once more, nodding silently again at Reeve's final farewell of "take care".

Cloud was unsure of his feelings. He thought he might have made peace with the fact that Reeve had hidden information from him, and that he was, for some reason, protecting Cloud, but there was little time to mull over their conversation before the swordsman found himself distracted again. The elevator at the end of the long hallway dinged, and he couldn't have been any less surprised by the face that greeted him as the doors slid open.

"Yo."

He stepped in silently, crossing his arms and standing parallel to the red-haired man. There was a moment of uneasy silence before Reno bit the toothpick that he was chewing on in half, apparently hurting himself in the process.

"Gah! Son of a bitch..." he muttered, tossing the broken pick to the floor of the elevator carelessly. "So you gonna do what Reeve asks, or what?" he barked.

Cloud's face was stoic. "That's between me and Reeve."

"Good, so you are."

"Guess so," he replied. "Seems like I don't have much of a choice in the matter." _Since everyone seems to think I can't take care of things myself,_ he thought somewhat bitterly.

"You know, you can't do everything by yourself, Cloud." He popped another toothpick into his mouth casually, ignoring the slight surprise that flashed across the blonde's face. It was just as if he'd read his mind.

Cloud narrowed his eyes, deciding that he didn't like having his mind read by this idiot. His stare burned into the elevator door unflinchingly. "You really like to push my buttons, don't you?"

"Well, _duh,_ " Reno drawled stupidly. "But I'm being honest, yo. It still took a small army to take down Sephiroth the first time. You can't stand here and tell me you took care of him without the help of your friends last time, too."

Cloud turned his head away, still stubbornly silent. Whether he liked it or not, Reno was right. He wasn't sure if he would have won without having his friends' support... He wouldn't have beaten Sephiroth, or his Remnants, or even the Geostigma that had attacked his body...

"Hell, be honest with yourself, Cloud. You can barely take care of your own damn self. If it weren't for Tifa and the rest of us picking you up from time to time, you'd just give up. I've seen you do it before."

"Shut up, Reno," he suddenly spat. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't..." He brushed him off. Cloud felt the hairs on the nape of his neck bristle irately. "Here," Reno said, shoving a book in Cloud's direction. "Take this home and read it. It'll tell you everything we know."

Cloud did take it, though his gaze was still paralyzing. _Plans and Blueprints for Shinra's Medical Division_ , it read. Plain text. Plain cover. It was surprisingly... small. Cloud flipped through its pages, noting that it was a bit old and worn, and a large amount of the pages had been ripped out.

"Was like that when we found it. Well, when Rufus found it. Salvaged it from the Shinra HQ library himself. Don't know how he did it in all that rubble..." He mumbled the last part to himself. "You won't find out much, but it'll at least get you up to speed with the rest of us."

Cloud turned his head and nodded once. "Thanks." _Reno might be annoying,_ he thought, _but at least he's useful sometimes._

The redhead nodded back. "Try checking out the library here sometime, too. We've got a lot of old books from Shira, and books from other places, as well." He shrugged. "I don't know, you might find something that interests you."

"...Okay."

Reno chuckled to himself, his lips curving into a sly smile as the elevator dinged again, a floor before the ground level. Rude was standing in the hall, arms crossed, waiting.

"See ya at the party, Cloud," he said with a grin, making a careless two-fingered salute as he stepped out of the elevator.

"Wha-?"

"Don't worry, Yuffie only invited the two of us. Can't wait to-" he waggled his eyebrows suggestively - " _hang out_ with you and the birthday girl."

"You're not invited," he said coldly, but the doors were closing and Reno's image was soon replaced by plain, gray steel. Cloud sighed, rubbing his forehead and willing the headache that was forming to go away. _Great, I wonder who else Yuffie's invited,_ he thought. It was already enough of a pain that Tifa had apparently invited _her._ He shook the irritated thoughts from his head and flipped through the pages of the book again, skimming over the various headings and walking through the opening elevator doors as it 'dinged' without thinking.

He found himself wandering into the library, just as Reno had suggested. _Might as well,_ he supposed. He found a chair in a quiet corner and sat down, reading through part of the book. It discussed the plans for building a medical division for Shinra's elite SOLDIERs, but the pages where the location might have been mentioned were gone. Essentially, every page that seemed to contain critical information was ripped out. Cloud closed the book in frustration, standing up and wandering down the organized aisles of texts. He pulled the invitation Reeve had given him out of his back pocket, looking over it.

_May 4th... The day after Tifa's birthday..._

That's right... Tifa's birthday... Birthday party... Barret and Cid coming to visit... The kids... So many important things were happening at home, and Cloud could only feel himself being pulled deeper and deeper into the issues that were happening outside. It wasn't like he didn't want to _be_ home, but this Deepground business was going to drive him crazy if he didn't get some real answers, and soon. Not to mention, he was slacking on his deliveries. Slacking severely.

Cloud took notice of the aisle he had wandered into aimlessly: _Medical Information._ He skimmed over the textbooks, some old and worn, some new and pristine. None of which seemed like they would offer any further information on Deepground. One thick book did catch his interest, though: _Detailed Analysis on the Effects of Mako on the Body_. He pulled it off of the shelf, but hesitated opening it. He wasn't sure why, but he felt a deep sense of unease, and flipped through its contents anyway.

 _Mako is essentially poisonous to the body,_ a random page near the front of the book read. _It can cause a multitude of side-effects, including death, if given too concentrated of a dose. However, the benefits for Mako use in SOLDIERs outweigh the risks. Proper exposure to Mako will lend increased strength, speed, and mental processing abilities to a SOLDIER. Ultimately, only the strongest will survive the treatment._

Cloud flipped further through its pages, his eyes falling upon words that made him feel sick to his stomach.

_In extreme cases, certain devastating mental health issues can arise. Cases of severe violence, depression, and disassociation have been documented. For the weak-minded, Mako can destroy the brain. Some SOLDIERs have lost the entirety of their long-term memories, while others have experienced complete identity loss and never fully recovered. In these cases, the Mako treatment is deemed a failure._

Closed shut the book, utterly disgusted with it. It was a part of his past that he didn't want to remember. He shook his head, deciding it was time to leave. He had a few deliveries he needed to make; not to mention, he had a few personal errands to run as well. He and Tifa both needed new armor... And Tifa's locket was still empty. He wasn't even sure if he was going to give it to her.

As he was making his way to leave, he saw one last book that caught his eye. One book that, maybe, he felt angry at himself for being interested in. It was stupid. Stupid and unnecessary and utterly shameful. But he picked it up anyway, hiding the cover from the view of any onlookers, and walked out of the WRO without bothering to check it out. Its title was _Recovering From Loss: Coping Strategies for Grief and Depression._

He felt dumb, and angry, and ashamed of himself. But, truthfully, he did feel depressed. Depressed and lost and unsure of what to do with himself. And he had promised _her_ that he would try to move on. Try to become happier and healthier. That's what she wanted, right? He'd try anything for her, he supposed. Even if it was reading stupid self-help books that were, more than likely, pseudoscience.

**•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

It was late. Cloud had essentially finished his deliveries - at least the important ones. The rest would have to wait. He had also finished running his own personal errands, some of which had been more... _difficult_ than others. He swallowed thickly, envisioning the photo he had paid to print out, now fitted perfectly inside Tifa's locket. He knew that she and the kids wouldn't be happy that he had come home later than expected, but he hoped that they would understand. He planned to take close to a week off to make up for it. It sounded welcoming, staying home for a while. Driving the long, lonely stretches of road and fighting off random beasts was growing old.

Upon turning into the back alley behind the 7th Heaven, Cloud immediately noticed a dim light radiating out from inside the garage. The large aluminum door was open, and Tifa was perched atop a stool, presumably bottling some beers. Why she was doing so at this hour, though, Cloud wasn't sure. She smiled and waved at him as he pulled up, cut off the ignition, and peeled off his driving goggles.

"Hey, Tifa," he called to her once the roar of Fenrir's engine had ceased. "What are you doing?" He dismounted his bike and walked towards her, grabbing his bags as he did.

"I couldn't sleep," she replied, smiling weakly. "Couldn't even pass out after reading tonight. I figured I might as well make myself useful if I wasn't going to get any rest."

Cloud frowned, breathing out her name in a lightly scolding manner. "...I meant to make it home sooner, but I figured I'd go ahead and get some stuff out of the way instead. I was thinking about taking a few days off."

Tifa's face scrunched up in confusion. "Really? But what about your deliveries?"

"They're all done." _Well, most of them, at least,_ he noted. "I guess you could say I'm taking a vacation."

Tifa's weak smile brightened substantially upon hearing those words. "That's great! You'll get to spend more time with Barret and Cid!" _Man,_ did she look cute when she was happy.

"Yep. Wouldn't want to miss out on the fun," he replied, a tiny smile pulling at his lips as well. "Besides, I can help you and the kids plan for the party."

They made their way inside and Cloud put his things away in their usual places before taking a quick shower. By the time he had returned to the bar area, Tifa was placing a steaming bowl of stew and a cold beer at the booth nearest him. "Told ya I'd have dinner waiting for you when you got home," she chirped, smiling sweetly, and slid into the booth opposite of his place.

"Thanks, Teef," he said, sitting down as well. "Looks amazing, as always."

She hummed her approval and sipped on a tall glass of water, watching Cloud curiously. He took his first bite, relishing in its flavor. _Mmmph._ Tasted like home.

"Taste okay?" she inquired gently.

"It tastes great. Your cooking is the best. Really." She smiled again, but Cloud could sense the fact that her expression wasn't entirely genuine. They sat in silence for a few moments as Cloud ate, putting off the inevitable conversation about his visit with Reeve. He got the sense that she wasn't ready to talk about it either. Maybe, for a moment, they could just talk about... nothing.

"I picked us up some new armor," he eventually said. As if it were actually important.

"Oh, thank you, Cloud!"

He nodded. "...Are Marlene and Denzel feeling any better?" he asked, genuinely concerned.

Tifa nodded as well. "Much better. Marlene was almost too excited to go to sleep tonight after Barret called. And Denzel..." She trailed off for a moment, the furrow of her brow puckering the slightest bit. "Well, he cheered up once Marlene did, too. But... I think he's been feeling a little down. And maybe a little scared." Tifa sighed. "He told me today... That he knows it didn't rain. He knows you say that when you get into a fight."

Cloud was surprised to hear himself chuckle softly. It wasn't funny, but it was sort of impressive. "Denzel's a smart kid," he replied. "I knew he'd catch on eventually."

"Yeah..." Tifa sighed again. "He wants to talk to us, Cloud. He wants to know what's been going on. I..." She paused, closing her eyes and breathing in deeply. Cloud felt compelled to reach out to her, but he opted to take another bite of his stew instead. Tifa would probably scold him if he let it get cold.

"I don't want to keep them in the dark," she continued, "but I don't want to scare them, either. I just... want them to be kids, you know?" She shook her head as Cloud listened intently. "They've been through so much, Denzel especially, and I just want them to be happy. Live without worrying, without problems, at least for a little while longer. They're... so young." Cloud felt his brows furrow together slightly; he shared her sentiment, but he knew that there was nothing he could do to hide the truth from the kids. They were both smart. They'd figure out what was going on sooner rather than later.

"I don't want to scare myself..." She quietly added. Cloud stopped mid-chew and looked at her with intensely blue eyes. She laughed softly, though Cloud knew that she didn't find it funny. "I thought... I guess I thought it'd all be over with once the Geostigma was cured and Sephiroth's remnants were defeated. But it feels like we're always fighting something... Always have been, haven't we?" she asked, her pretty scarlet eyes finding his. He swallowed his last bite of stew down with a gulp, leveling his gaze with hers.

"Yeah..." he agreed. "Life has a way of... giving us a hard time. But..." He reached out then, pushing his bowl aside and taking Tifa's hand in his, rubbing his thumb across her knuckles gently. "Lucky for me... I've got someone like you to fight by my side."

Her cheeks lit up rosy pink, and she breathed out his name a bit nervously, her eyes falling shyly away from his. Feeling some sort of unearned confidence, Cloud added, "Couldn't ask for anyone better." Her eyes finally lit up, her lips curving upwards in just his favorite way. He wanted her smile to be real. Even if the moment was fleeting, he wanted to make her feel happy. Just a little.

The moment _was_ fleeting, though, as all of their little moments were. Their mutual happiness seemed to swell up and dissipate in only a second's time, and then one of them was back to frowning over the difficulties they always had to face. Tifa gently pulled her hands away, choosing to tuck them in her lap as she drew in a deep breath.

"So... What did Reeve say?"

He told her everything he had learned, though the information was thin. "Reno gave me this," he said, pulling the book out of the one bag he had left on the bar. "There's not much here... I haven't finished reading it yet, but I haven't found anything useful in it so far. Everything about Deepground seems to be a mystery to everyone."

Tifa scrunched her eyebrows, flipping through the book's contents absently. "So... Reeve didn't tell you anything because...?" Her question trailed off, and Cloud frowned as he sat back down.

"I guess there really wasn't much to tell me, but... Like I said. He was trying to protect me. And maybe you, too."

Tifa sighed. "I guess I understand... But, all this does is make me feel _more_ worried."

"That's exactly why he kept quiet about it."

She shook her head, closing the book and looking at Cloud with desperate eyes. "What are we going to do?"

"...I don't know. Wait, I guess."

"Wait?"

"What else is there to do? Besides..." He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "I think we need to focus on other things right now. Like... Having _fun_ together, for once."

"Fun..." she repeated, her eyes somewhat distant.

"...Not something you and I get to have too often."

"Yeah..." Her eyes dropped to her lap, and a thick silence fell between them. "Cloud..." She spoke slowly, as if she were afraid to speak at all. "...What were you looking for in the church today?"

The unexpected question caught him off guard. He sighed, unsure of how long that question had been burning in her mind, and decided that honesty was the best answer. "I was looking for Zack and Aerith."

"Oh, Cloud," she breathed. She looked heartbroken. "It's because you miss them, isn't it?"

Slowly, he shook his head. "It's not even that... I just wanted to know... When I saw them before... If they were real, or if they were just in my head..." He squeezed his empty bottle of beer a little too tightly. "Can't trust anything I see. Or hear. Or taste or smell... Maybe it was just because I was sick..." He looked away, ashamed. "Maybe I'm still crazy."

Abruptly, Tifa reached out and grabbed Cloud's free hand tightly, much as he had done to her several times earlier that day. "No, Cloud," she said vehemently. "You're _not_ crazy." She was holding his hand tightly still, like she was terrified to let go. Cloud shook his head again.

"...Never been so sure about that, Teef."

"Cloud..." She opened and closed her mouth like she wanted to say something, but was unsure of how to say it. She closed her eyes tightly for a brief moment, before looking back into Cloud's intensely. "When we fell into the Lifestream together... I _saw_ you... The real you... " She leaned closer, her voice hardly louder than a whisper. "And the _real_ Cloud... The Cloud at your very core, the Cloud who hasn't been subjected to Mako showers, or Jenova cells, or Geostigma... _That_ Cloud isn't crazy. He's just... Cloud."

"...Just Cloud," he repeated quietly. "I like the sound of that."

She nodded, still holding his hand, though she'd relaxed her grip. "Me too."

Cloud sighed quietly, releasing the empty bottle in his hand and finding Tifa's free hand with his own. His thumb skirted gently over her palm; something so simple that had been both terrifying and embarrassing only days ago had started to become so natural. Just as natural as the slow formation of Tifa's soft smile and gentle eyes that were gazing into Cloud's, eliciting a small smile of his own in return.

"So," he breathed, allowing his shoulders to drop and relax, hands still connected to Tifa's. "Big day tomorrow."

"Really big day," Tifa affirmed. Her eyes were searching his, looking for something that Cloud was unsure of. "The other day... You said you were as ready as you would ever be. Is that still true?"

Cloud felt the corner of his mouth quirk up slightly. "Sort of. Now I'm feeling kind of excited, though... Nervous. But excited."

Tifa giggled quietly, shaking her head. "Cloud Strife... The kind of guy who would look into the face of a sixty-foot-tall monster without batting an eye, but gets nervous about seeing his friends." She smiled sweetly at him again, lacing her fingers into his. "You haven't changed a bit."

"I haven't?" he asked, genuinely curious.

"Well... Maybe a little bit."

"Maybe."

She giggled again and tilted her head, smiling at him from under thick eyelashes. "Thanks for cheering me up."

Cloud smiled too, and nodded. He quietly relished in the fleeting moment, feeling his chest swell up like a balloon. He had made Tifa smile. In that moment, he was happy.

**•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

Cloud was frustrated. No, he was beyond frustrated; he was growing angry. After reading and re-reading through the small, damaged book Reno had given him, he shut it roughly in irritation. The few notes he was able to scrawl in the margins were of little consequence. He sighed, leaning his head back in his cheap desk chair.

_Just one moment of peace would be nice..._

He was tired, and he wanted to sleep, but he knew it was useless. What was the point if he was only going to wake himself up in a frenzy? Worse, he would wake everyone else up? He considered setting an alarm every hour or so, but that seemed fruitless too. He wondered if he could just function without sleeping at all. His physical state was already failing - there was no way he would have allowed a monster to knock him off of his bike in the past. His mental state wasn't doing so well either; he was better off than he was two years ago, and he was better off than he was two months ago, too. That was progress, right? Still, he couldn't help but fear falling back into psychosis. Some part of him felt that was all he knew - identity loss, hallucinations, depression, anxiety, violent tendencies and paralyzing fear. Was there really any other part of him left to offer?

 _Just Cloud,_ he reminded himself. _Don't overthink it._

Right. He sighed again, fighting back exhaustion and hesitantly opening the other book he had taken from the library that day.

_Chapter 1: An Introduction to the Five Stages of Grief_

Five stages that he had cycled through, completed, and cycled through again. _Acceptance_ was supposed to be the final stage, but had he truly learned to accept his past? Even though he had told Tifa just two months ago that he felt a weight lifting from his shoulders, it was only half-true, and short-lived. The taste of bitter grief was still fresh in his mouth, as if he had licked his salty wounds clean only yesterday. Yes, he'd made peace with himself... for the most part. It was more of a manner of moving forward, rather than moving on. Forward, marching, like the SOLDIER he never was. He sighed. Zack would know what to do.

And Aerith? She had been such a dazzlingly confusing person. An entity, moreso - someone who was always just out of reach, standing just beyond the horizon. Someone who was more ethereal than human, to him. His feelings for her - whatever they had been - he couldn't quite remember. Powerful. They had been powerful.

But the question always came back to settle itself comfortably in his mind, a single question that had made its home there, never moving, never finding its answer. _What I felt back then... What I did... How much of it was ever_ me _?_

Zack's persona had loved Aerith; oh, he had loved her so much. It was a different sort of love than what Cloud felt towards Tifa, though. It was exciting and confusing and utterly exhilarating, but somehow... misaligned. Incorrect. It was truly as if Zack's spirit had somehow lived through him, loving Aerith for all that she was, and giving Cloud a taste of those heady feelings. But it was never right.

Tifa, however... She was home. Tifa was a calling in the darkness. Tifa was a fond memory. Aerith was something breezy and magical, something that poured through your hands if you tried to hold her. But Tifa? Tifa was the Earth he walked on. Tifa was reality. Not cold or hard reality, but loving, warm, embracing reality. The feeling of warm sunrays on your face. The feeling of bare feet digging into the cool dirt below. She was friendship. She was happiness.

Yeah... She was his happiness. Her, and all the new friends he had made. The children. His comrades. He owed it all to her. Despite... _everything_ he had put her through... She had always been there for him. Picked him up. Brushed him off. Told him to keep fighting. And fought by his side. Yeah, maybe his feelings for Aerith _had_ been powerful back then. But they were never as powerful as his feelings for the little Nibleheim girl he had fallen in love with years ago.

He really just wanted to go hug her. Maybe sneak into her room and crawl into bed beside her. He'd lay on the edge of the bed - give her space. Let her have the blanket and the pillow. He wouldn't touch her at all. Maybe just feel her body heat beside him. Maybe just her presence. It sounded so inviting, but it was his own fault that he couldn't. That ship had sailed years ago.

His heavy head fell down and banged against his desk lightly, once, twice, three times in a row.

_Stop. Fucking. Thinking._

Utterly unsure of what to do with himself, he grabbed the self-help book and stowed it in his desk drawer, pausing before closing it.

_Didn't I leave some of my maps in here?_

He was sure he had, hadn't he? Routes he had taken recently through the Eastern continent? He shook his head, raking his fingers through his hair. He had probably just left them in his bags.

_No need to check. You're probably just going crazy again._

He flopped face-down on the bed, too tired to even bother adjusting his blanket.

_Probably._

**•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

_"Cloud..."_

She called out to him. It was a feminine voice, though he wasn't sure whom it belonged to. It was pretty and gentle, floating into his mind like a leaf skimming the surface of a still lake. He turned, unsure of where he was, searching for the source of the voice that was calling his name.

" _Cloud, over here..."_

He turned his head again to finally lay eyes on the voice's owner, and oh, she was _beautiful._ Lithe and shapely, her body lay naked in the dewy grass, her hair splayed out beneath her and crowning her face like a halo. _An angel,_ he thought. That's just what she looked like. Her eyes, smoldering coals over a ruby fire, dared even the shyest of men to confess their sweetest secrets to her.

 _"Thank you._ " The words were whispered softly, her voice laden with adoration.

Cloud, now lying nude on the ground beside her, shook his head, hair falling messy into his face, shading his eyes from her view. She had seen all of the words that his mouth couldn't speak hiding within those eyes, and he knew that if she were to look again, she would see his very soul, raw and untouched by anyone but her.

 _"I think I should be the one thanking you,"_ he laughed nervously. She giggled quietly, smiling at him and reaching out to push his blonde spikes out of the way, running her fingers through the rest of his hair as she did.

_"No, I mean... Thank you, for staying by my side. Right until the very end."_

He shook his head again. _"Not until the end. No matter what happens... I'll always be by your side, Tifa."_

 _"Promise?"_ She extended a slender, battle-calloused finger to his lips, where he kissed the tip of it delicately.

_"Promise."_

Hazily, dreamily, they helped redress each other, silent save for knowing smiles and gentle kisses, and ended up cuddling against the shelter of a large boulder. The warmth of her skin and the softness of her hair brushing against his skin lullabied Cloud into a trance, though his nervous stomach and anxious heart stopped him from drifting into slumber. Somewhere in the recesses of his mind, he could hear his enemy's quiet laughter.

"Oh, Cloud," he cooed. "Will you ever learn?" The silver-haired man appeared and waved his hand, leading an army forward and dissolving the peaceful surroundings Cloud had taken refuge in. The voice filled up his mind entirely, taking away everything else in its wake. "This happiness won't last. It never does." Another wave of his hand, and an auburn-haired woman appeared before him, unspeaking, unflinching, almost robotic in her state. "You see, Cloud, I can give, and I can take away." A giant katana then came flying in from the distance, piercing through Aerith's body and causing her to dissipate into nothingness. Cloud stood there, helpless. "Whatever I want. Whatever I desire. I can manipulate it all at my will." An apparition of a black-haired man appeared, in the same state as the woman before him had been in. "Even those that are very powerful are still _nothing_ to me." A thousand gleaming bullets rained down from the heavens, dissolving Zack into nothing more than smoke. Pain seeped into Cloud's body, and he realized that he was feeling _their_ pain, the pain of a sword slicing through his stomach, the pain of being shot by a million rounds of ammunition. "But you know, the most interesting thing is this..." He walked towards Cloud slowly, appearing before him, towering over his smaller form. "You've defeated me twice - no _, three times,_ in a sense. And now, I'm not your biggest threat anymore." He gestured to the thousands of faceless soldiers standing around them; a hulking behemoth appeared behind them, and at the forefront, a tawny-haired man watched curiously. "And yet, you still can't seem to get me out of your head." He chuckled. "At this rate, I may never leave."

Cloud clenched his teeth, feeling the seething hatred towards Sephiroth fill up his chest and radiate all over his body. The hostility he felt forced out the pain and replaced it with a burning desire to murder the man who stood before him. But he couldn't move.

"Do you want to know a secret, Cloud?" The silver-haired devil leaned down and whispered into Cloud's ear, his lips nearly brushing against his skin. "I _love_ getting inside your head. It's so much fun."

Cloud roared with a ferocity unlike any other. His body, previously petrified from fear, or rage, or sadness, or something he didn't know, awakened. His muscles were alight with fire and he tore through the invisible restraints that were tying him down.

"SEPHIROTH!" he yelled, ready to charge

 _"No! You have to wake up, Cloud!"_ someone had yelled. A woman.

 _"Yeah, come on! Wake up!"_ a male voice added.

 _Wake up?_ There was no need to wake up. He was fully aware, in tune with his entire being. He was burning rage. He was wrath, incarnate.

 _"Wake up!"_ the woman repeated.

 _KILL HIM,_ his mind wailed. _MURDER HIM AND DESTROY HIM FOR GOOD!_

_"Wake up!"_

_WHAT DO YOU MEAN WAKE UP?! I HAVE TO KILL SEPHIROTH!_

_"Wake up!"_

_TEAR THROUGH HIM! RIP HIM TO SHREDS!_

_"Wake up!"_

_"Cloud! Wake up!"_

_"Wake up!"_

_"WAKE UP!"_

**•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

"Wake up!"

With a start, Cloud involuntarily followed instructions, jolting upright and gripping onto someone's shoulders tightly. His eyes darted left to right, searching for the imagery that had been in his head only moments ago, but his vision faded into Tifa's concerned face. She breathed out a sigh of relief, and Cloud noticed that she had an equally tight grip on his own shoulders.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah..." he breathed. "Yeah, I'm okay..." He released her, heart still pounding relentlessly, and she did the same.

"I'm sorry, I just... I thought it might be a good idea to wake you up before the dream got too bad..." She glanced away, seemingly embarrassed. "I was already up, so I heard you as soon as it started... I hope I wasn't too late..."

"No, it's fine," he assured her. Cloud clutched at his head, feeling the presence of a headache, though it wasn't as strong as it had been the previous few nights. His body was still sweaty and tense, but at least he wasn't hurting too badly. Tifa had helped him. "Have you been up this whole time?" he asked, still pinching at his forehead, eyes closed tightly.

"Yeah... Can't seem to fall asleep tonight. "

Cloud frowned, dropping his hand. The warmth in Tifa's voice was only a thin veil that Cloud could see right through. She was feeling down again. "Too much on your mind?"

"...Yeah," she replied after a moment, her lips giving up her fake and tired smile.

His eyes opened and flashed to her. "Wanna talk about it?"

Tifa looked away, clutching at the relief of the wolf on her ring. "We don't get to talk about this kind of stuff very often," Cloud continued, choosing his words carefully. Tifa remained silent; she probably thought it was unusual for Cloud to suggest talking at all. He didn't know. He didn't know what to say... Never knew what to say... But he was getting sick of staying silent. Something swirled inside of his stomach and he piped up once more, although his words were very quiet. "I'm a good listener."

It was enough to prompt a small, _real_ smile from the brunette, for the briefest moment, before her features settled back into puckered brows and a pouty frown. "It's everything," she breathed out. "You know?"

"...Yeah." He knew.

She rolled her shoulders, seemingly uncomfortable, and sighed. "I'm just... trying so hard right now. I want to be happy, I want Marlene and Denzel to be happy, and I want _you_ to be happy, Cloud." She gulped, nervously tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "You tell me not to worry, so I try not to, but... I can't ever make my mind shut up. It's just... _constant._ " She shifted again, audibly popping her neck to the right. Cloud's frown deepened.

"I think... I understand," he offered hesitantly. "My mind... it's always racing, too. Always asking questions, and never getting any answers. Is that... How you feel?"

Cloud felt his cheeks heat up lightly. He was awkward. Bad at talking. Bad at expressing his emotions. But for _her..._

"...Yeah," she uttered softly. "Yeah, it is..." She sighed again, exasperated, and dropped her head into her hands, hiding her face from Cloud's view. "I'm just so stressed out. I have this knot in my stomach that feels like it will never go away." Her words were muffled, back and legs rounded and pulling into herself like a fetus. "I feel like I'm going to explode." She shook her head, still hidden away in the safety of her hands. "I've got to start training again. I'm getting so weak."

Cloud's frown deepened. "You're not getting weak. But training might be a good idea. Maybe for the both of us."

"Yeah. Maybe."

Cloud didn't know what else to say. It was painful to see her like this. So close to her birthday, so close to seeing her friends and Marlene's smiling little face when Barret came home. It just wasn't like her to look so depressed. A fleeting thought crossed his mind: what if he was rubbing off on her? He didn't want that. He wasn't a good person. He wasn't a happy person. Tifa was. Tifa was better than that.

"It hurts..." He spoke slowly.

"Your head?" she asked, still withdrawn into herself.

"...No." His head _did_ hurt, but he didn't care. "It hurts... Seeing you look so sad..." Tifa didn't respond. "If there was something I could do... Somehow... Make you feel better..." Cloud shook his head, feeling the fire in his cheeks begin its familiar wildfire spread down his neck.

 _Stupid,_ he berated himself. _Can't talk... I'm so bad at these kinds of things..._

"I just... like seeing you happy," he bumbled on. "You're always so happy and optimistic. That's the Tifa I know."

She finally lifted her head from her hands, shaking it softly. "I don't... know if that's _me_ anymore, Cloud." Her lips trembled delicately before quietly speaking again. "Lately I'm... I'm not like that."

Cloud's heart fell in his chest. All his fault... This was all his fault. As it usually was. _Gods_ , he hated seeing her like this.

"Tifa..." He spoke slowly again, carefully analyzing every word before it left his mouth. He couldn't bring himself to look her in the eyes. "Do you remember what I told you? The last time you were feeling sad?"

"...I don't know."

"I said... If you forget what it feels like, to be happy... That I'd be there to remind you."

Purposeful yet delicate, his hand reached out to caress hers. It was so... _easy,_ now. Practically second-nature, to touch her, to feel the warmth of her skin against his hand. It was wrong and it was selfish; he didn't know if she hated him for touching her now, but in that moment, he couldn't contain himself. Didn't want to.

"I don't really know how to do that, but I want to. More than... anything."

He had said too much. Maybe it was the lack of sleep making him delirious. Maybe it wasn't. Maybe it was the way Tifa's beautiful, tired, pained expression made him forget all about thinking and remember only the old feelings that had lived in his heart for all these years.

"I swear... I'd do anything..."

_For you..._

The words hung fragile on his lips; he desired to speak them - two simple words - but he was terrified that they might shatter if he opened his mouth once more. For a moment too long, the room was silent, Tifa and Cloud both looking anywhere but each other, Cloud's larger hand sitting atop hers despite his fear that she might pull away. She didn't.

"Talk to me," she finally whispered. Her words were so quiet, but Cloud heard every detail of her trembling voice. Heard the way she spoke with apprehension, heard the way her throat was tight from restraining herself from crying.

"About what?" he countered, just as quiet, just as fearful.

"I want to know... How _you_ feel..." She pulled her legs up onto the bed, crossing them beneath her and reaching out to intertwine her fingers with Cloud's other hand. His heart drummed loudly beneath his chest.

_How I feel..._

Terrified. Elated. Desperate. Joyous. Angry. Depressed. Concerned. And absolutely, astoundingly, _painfully_ in love. That's how he felt.

"...Afraid."

 _Afraid..._ Yeah. It was enough of an explanation, for now.

"...Always afraid," he continued. "Of these attacks. Afraid for the kids. For you... Afraid of my dreams, of Sephiroth returning again, of something bad happening..." He shook his head, frustrated with himself. "I'm even afraid to see Barret and Cid tomorrow. People that I call my friends."

_Terrified. Terrified of everything. 'Savior of the Planet', they say. Some hero I am._

"...Me too," she whispered, breaking his cycle of self-depreciating thoughts. She unlaced her fingers from Cloud's, leaning in closer to absently turn his hands over, examining them. "I'm always worried... Always afraid, too... Afraid of bad things... And good things..." She sighed. "I guess that's normal for people like us, though. Maybe you have to be scared enough to find the strength to be brave... And you're the bravest person I know." Her fingers danced along his skin, sending chills up his arms. "Callouses... So many..." she murmured to herself. Cloud was completely absorbed in her, unsure of what she was doing, but entranced by her gentle touch. Brilliant blue eyes shyly searched her face, traced the curve of her lips; admired how thick, dark lashes shaded her eyes from his view. "So many battles... So much pain..."

_Tifa..._

It didn't take any thought, only instinct, for him to lean forward and gently press his forehead against her own. "Same as you," he breathed, eyes closed from the world.

He didn't understand... She didn't pull away, but instead, stayed just as she was, still tracing patterns on his worn hands, their foreheads connected and sending warm feelings throughout Cloud's chest. It wasn't right. It wasn't fair. She didn't want this... He knew that. But Tifa was kind, and wonderful, and if she would allow him to relish in her innocent touch for a moment longer, he wasn't going to deny that. Not now. Not when he wanted her affection so badly. Needed it.

_The only times I've ever felt brave were the times when you needed my help the most. The times I promised I would be there for._

"Tifa..."

A million fleeting thoughts passed through his mind before he threw them away, where they belonged. There was no way. It wouldn't be right to take advantage of her like this, when she was being kind enough to comfort him in this way. It would be wrong to gently kiss her forehead, cup her cheek and trace his lips down to hers. Think of some stupid thing to say like 'I need you' or 'I'm yours'.

Tears began to stain her cheeks. "Seems like we're always trying to be strong for each other..." she said, her breath shaky. "Always trying to... Hold up these walls, to protect each other." She dipped her head down, breaking the connection that Cloud was so desperately trying to hold onto. "I don't want any more walls, Cloud."

"Neither do I," he replied too quickly, too eagerly. He squeezed her hands tightly in his.

"The thing is... I don't know how..." She shuddered, hushing a sob that escaped her quivering lips. Shaking her head, she pulled her hands away from his. "It's stupid."

_No..._

_Gods, no. It's anything but stupid._

He was crumbling apart without her touch to hold him together. His mind was breaking. Or, at least it felt like it was - how could he even tell anymore? He never could in the first place. And she was crying, trembling, trying to hold it in as everything poured out, and she was breaking into pieces, too. _Breaking_. Letting the facade of sweet smiles and strong words slip away, and he could do nothing to save her. Not this time.

"Please..." he begged, too scared to reach out and wipe her tears away. "Please don't cry, Tifa..." How many times would he have to speak those words?

She broke down completely, her sobs becoming louder and more erratic. "I - can't - stop," she choked out through panicked breaths.

His body broke through the chains that his mind had bound him in, and within a moment's time, she was wrapped up in his arms. Safe, in his arms; protected, as she cried. Her hands found the back of his shirt, and they clung there desperately.

Cloud hated himself. _Gods_ , he hated himself. Here Tifa was, crying in his arms, and he could do nothing but hold her tightly against his chest. He felt sick from seeing her in so much pain, and he felt guilty for wanting to hold her there forever. Hold her when he didn't deserve to. Not after everything he had put her through. He was so useless.

 _No more walls_ , she had said. But Cloud didn't know anything about breaking walls down. Besides, how could he? He always had to hold Tifa at an arm's distance for fear of hurting her even more than he already had. He couldn't trust himself not to put her in harm's way, when he was supposed to save her. He couldn't trust himself to not totally lose it again and make her life a living hell. He couldn't even leave her, to keep her safe from the dangers that followed him. He had broken her heart enough times already. And yet, he didn't want to ever leave again. No, he wanted to stay right here and hold her until the sun came up and set again a million times over. She deserved better than his selfish desires.

And yet, he indulged in them, feeling his own eyes water up and spill over. He rested his chin on the top of her head, and whispered things of no importance. 'Shhh's and 'It's okay's, little utterances that meant nothing, but somehow seemed to help. And as her tears began to subside, Cloud continued to hold her tightly, and she held on as well. The softest kiss was placed on the crown of her head - a dangerous move that Cloud berated himself for as soon as he did it.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

She was breathing slower now, but heavily, as if she carried the weight of the entire planet on her shoulders. In some ways, she did. "For what?" she murmured into the fabric of his shirt.

"...Everything." He closed his eyes tightly, feeling hot tears sting as they fell. "God damn it... _Everything._ "

"Don't apologiz-"

"No, Tifa - I need - I mean..." He pulled away from her, cradling her face in his hands and looking at her with an intensity that would scare anyone else but her. "I need to say something..." Her eyes darted between his own, searching icy blues for answers that he wasn't sure he could give her.

"Say it, then..." she whispered.

"I..." He relaxed his hold on her face, running his hands up into her hair. "I am _so_ sorry for everything I've done to you... For putting you into danger time and time again... For always running away from you... For leaving you and for hurting you... For... _This_... Just... Everything..." He was at a loss for words, and Tifa grabbed his hands as they dropped away from her face.

"No more walls..." she repeated, her voice quiet. "No more apologies... No more hiding and running away..." She reached out and gently, so gently, wrapped her arms around him this time. "Let's just... be."

Cloud could feel his arms wrapping heavy around her too, holding her to his chest again, his chin resting atop her shoulder. He didn't want it to end. He didn't want it to ever end. "'Be?'" he questioned.

Her only reply was the soft 'mm-hmm' murmured into his shoulder.

_But... I can't just let it be... When everything is so wrong... Everything about me is so wrong... And everything about you is so, so right._

They stayed that way for a long time, and somehow, Tifa had pressed her weight down on him enough to let them gently lie down together. Cloud was reminded of his dreams, and the feeling terrified him. He felt terrified, yes, but he was also completely and totally elated. She was allowing this... Wasn't she?

Nevertheless, he didn't dare push it any further. He gulped, feeling his throat tighten. "Tifa... You should get some sleep." Yeah, sleep. She needed it. He needed it. And he needed her here, right where she was... But she didn't need him there. She needed to go.

"Sleep, then," she mumbled, almost carelessly. Her arms slipped down from around his shoulders and fell close to his chest. She didn't look like she wanted to move anywhere.

Cloud's heart skipped a beat, before crashing back down in his chest so painfully hard that he thought his ribcage might crack open.

"Teef-" he protested.

"Sleep, Cloud..." she murmured, already beginning to drift off. Drained. Exhausted.

_But..._

_I'm afraid..._

_I'm afraid that if I hold you now... That I'll never be able to let you go..._

He thought she might have fallen asleep, but the softest words escaped her lips, so small and delicate and fragile. "...I can hear your heartbeat."

Words woven of thin gossamer, so tender in their nature, but holding more importance than damn near anything else Cloud had ever heard. She was close enough to hear the way his heart sounded. The way it beat for her and pulsed life through his veins, lighting him on fire and making him feel something stronger than the perpetual pain he fought through. Something wonderful and healing.

Cloud felt his resolve wearing thin, felt his hands tracing patterns over Tifa's back. "Is this okay?" He repeated the same question he had asked the night before. When she hesitated in responding, her body tensing slightly under Cloud's touch, he pulled away immediately. Ashamed.

"...I don't know what's okay anymore, Cloud," she said quietly. "I feel like I don't know what anything is anymore... But..." She snuggled up closer to him, her face buried in his chest, muffling her words. "I do know that I want to sleep beside you tonight. And I know that you'll let me. So... Sleep."

That was it. He cradled her up tightly, pulling the blanket over the both of them and propping her head up on his arm, his free hand petting her head gently.

_Tifa... Sweet, beautiful, wonderful Tifa..._

It had been so long since they had slept together like this, the instances few and far between. Last night had been the closest he had had to this moment in years, and now, he was relishing in the feeling of holding her. Of needing her. Of loving her. His heart sang praises of her as he watched her fall asleep, seemingly content in his arms. The longer they lied there together, the lighter the weight became in his chest. He could kiss her right now. He could tell her how he really felt. Tell her he loved her.

 _It's a bad idea_ , the logical side of his brain reminded him.

 _I don't care_ , his heart rebutted.

_Yes you do. Don't be an idiot._

_You'll just screw everything up. Like you always do._

_Besides, you've played with her heart enough, haven't you? If you really loved her, you'd let her make her own choices._

Cloud sighed, dipping his head down and softly breathing in the scent of her clean hair.

 _You're right,_ he told himself.

_But... 'No more walls'..._

_If Tifa really wants that... I could tell her everything... Couldn't I?_

_What if she rejects you?_ his mind supplied. _You're too scared._

_Yeah ...I'm too scared._

_Even if this is all I'll ever have... I can't lose this..._

_This is... everything._

"Tifa _..._ " he whispered. She didn't stir a bit; his words were a million miles away from her.

_I love you..._

It felt liberating, to think it, to know it, even if he couldn't quite say it. Even when she couldn't hear, wouldn't hear because he wouldn't dare tell her. Loving her was something akin to feeling the first morning sunrays dabble across your skin. Or breathing in the scent of fresh mountain air and smoky campfire. Something wholesome and warm and pure and full of life. Just as she was. Just as she should stay.

_If only I could tell you... But it wouldn't be enough._

Something quite the opposite of who he was.

_I've never been able to find the right words. They wouldn't do you justice._

The opposite of what he'd ever been.

_I just..._

What he ever would be.

_Can't._

**•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

_Sleep well, Tifa..._

That was the last, hazy thought that floated through Cloud's mind as he drifted off into exhausted slumber. The night wore long and grew old and tired, but Cloud slept more peacefully than, perhaps, he ever had before. He woke up slowly, heavily, his brain sluggishly turning over like the revving of an engine. The quiet sounds of the nighttime traffic trickled into his mind at first, followed by the most comforting feeling of warmth, of human weight piled against his body. She was...

_Still here..._

Still here, in his arms, sleeping soundly. Hair, sweeping across her face carelessly. Hands, wrapped up tightly around his arm. She looked so small and fragile against him, despite her muscular physique and a personality that, at times, was even stronger than her body. He carefully turned his neck to glance at the clock. It was getting close to Tifa's usual time to get up.

He couldn't believe it... And he didn't know what it meant. But for once, he didn't really care. He felt rested, and he felt soft and he felt loving. Gently, he brushed the sleeping woman's hair away from her face, admiring her pretty features and watching curiously as she stirred slightly. For the shortest second, a quick rush of adrenaline shot through his veins. Fear.

_What if she regrets-_

"Mmmph... Cloud?"

In that moment, a handful of memories flashed through his mind. Memories of watching her sleep by the campfire on their journey. Of sharing timid smiles over forcedly-casual meals while they built the new 7th Heaven together. Of watching the stars under the Highwind and hearing her voice, small and fearful and full of _something,_ telling him that she needed a moment, just a moment longer as she slept against his shoulder, thinking she would never have that time again.

Time that she had now. Time that she... _maybe_... still wanted.

"...Mornin', Teef."

A small smile, a face too close to his. "Morning," she breathed, hair messy and eyes sleepy and utterly beautiful in every way. A slight blush, a look that told him that she was only just realizing where she was. "Did you... sleep okay?" she asked quietly.

_Next to you... Who wouldn't?_

"Best I've slept in a while," he admitted bravely.

"Hmm," she chuckled lightly. "... Me too."

She breathed in softly, snuggling her face into Cloud's shoulder and pulling her body closer to his. His heart melted and became ablaze simultaneously, and he pulled her in closer, too. Thoughts... Words... Worry and fear... They were all such stupid, trivial things. Stupid and unnecessary, when he could simply have this, have this feeling of _her_ and holding her and loving her and never letting go. When he could give her anything, have his everything, tell her, _tell_ her something, anything-

"Tifa?"

The brunette's eyes fluttered open at the sound of a young girl's voice calling her name. Marlene sounded groggy and slightly confused, and Tifa chuckled quietly to herself. "I'd better go get her," she whispered.

"Wait, Teef-"

"I'll be right back." She smiled sweetly as she unwrapped herself from Cloud's embrace and rose from the bed, padding softly over to the closed door. Cloud couldn't help but sweep his eyes over her entire form: her long, messy hair. Her loose, wrinkled t-shirt. Her lean, shapely legs baring what looked to be very soft pajama bottoms…

_Stop it._

He blushed, slightly ashamed of himself. But how could he help it? His vision, his thoughts, his feelings, his _everything_ was focused firmly on her. Focused on the fact that he had spent the night holding her. Focused on the fact that she had gone to sleep crying… And had, for some reason, woken up like she was perfectly fine. Perfectly fine, in his arms. In _his_ arms.

"Marlene", she whispered softly, letting the hallway nightlight seep into Cloud's dark room. He watched the two embrace, noticing the confusion in the little girl's sleepy expression.

"...I can't sleep. I just wanted to see if you were up yet," she said, obviously holding back her thoughts and likely, questions.

"Yes, sweetie. I was just getting up. Why don't you go get dressed, and then you can come help me make breakfast in a little bit?"

"…Okay." The little girl peered into Cloud's room, her expression still confused. "Good morning, Cloud," she said, waving.

"M-Morning," Cloud stammered.

Tifa smiled, kissing Marlene on the forehead before ushering her back towards her room. The brunette turned in the doorway, clasping her hands behind her back and gently pushing the door closed with her foot. She slowly walked towards him, and Cloud sat up, his senses alight.

"So... I guess I should thank you."

Cloud blinked. His mind felt like jelly. "For what?"

"For helping me get through that… _freakout_ last night." She sat beside him on the bed, close enough to where he could feel her body heat. Closer than she would have sat next to him just days ago.

Cloud shook his head, trying to dissolve his hyperawareness of her every move. "I don't really feel like I did anything, Teef."

"You did, though." She cocked her head slightly, her expression soft. "I needed somebody to help me get through that... Calm me down and tell me that things are gonna be okay... And you did just that. So... thank you. I feel much better now."

Cloud frowned. For some reason, he didn't fully believe her.

"You're sure you're okay? You... really mean it?"

She nodded, smiling. "Mm-hmm. Thanks to you." Cloud's frown didn't disappear, and Tifa must have known exactly what he was thinking. "I _mean_ it," she reaffirmed. "I just... Kind of let everything build up and get the best of me. A girl has to cry every once in a while, right?" She laughed lightly. "But everything's okay now. Barret and Cid are coming to see us! It's gonna be a great day. I just know it."

"You're not worried anymore?" he prodded further.

_You're not... Going to regret any of this, are you?_

Her winning smile faltered slightly. "Well, of course I'm still worried, but..." Her eyes grew distant, looking at something faraway that only she could see. "I don't know, I've just got a good feeling today. Whatever happens, we'll worry about it when it comes. And we'll take care of it together. Right, Cloud?" He still couldn't help but feel that she wasn't being completely genuine with him, despite her asking for no more walls between them. But he couldn't deny her hopeful expression.

"You know it."

She smiled again, squeezing the top of his hand before making her way out of his room. He watched her as she left once more, leaving the door cracked open behind her. After a moment, he could hear her soft voice talking to Marlene, and gently rousing Denzel awake. Cloud sat on the bed silently, his mind humming and melting into something completely empty. Empty of fear, and anxiety, and anger and sadness. All that was left in its wake was a feeling. A feeling he had two years ago, during the night of his life that he thought might be his last. The feeling of being completely and totally entranced by _her._

He sat there for a time as he held onto that feeling. His mind, made of putty, swelled and fell like the steady pull of the ocean tides. Somewhere, in the distance, he heard her making normal little noises. Clicking her alarm clock off. Rustling through her dresser. Padding down the hall to the shower and turning on the hot water. Seeing Marlene appear in the doorway came as a slight surprise, then. To say that he was distracted would be an understatement.

"Hey, Marlene."

"Hey, Cloud."

She crawled up onto the bed beside him, and Cloud refocused his attention on her. Good. He needed a distraction.

"Your eye looks better."

"Mm-hmm. It doesn't hurt anymore, but I can still see the bruise…" The little girl resituated herself, pulling her legs underneath her.

"That's good. Are you excited for today?" Cloud asked, genuinely curious.

"Yeah! I'm so excited I couldn't sleep, Cloud! I can't wait to see my Papa…" Her eyes misted over as she looked off into the distance, probably momentarily daydreaming about the reunion they would have later that night. Cloud smiled; she looked happy.

"Yeah. I'm excited too."

"You are?" Her eyebrows rose in surprise.

"…Yeah. I am."

Marlene broke out into a full smile then, and they sat in comfortable silence for a moment, before she asked a question. An innocent question, but a question that made Cloud blush furiously.

"Are you and Tifa together now?"

Cloud thought for a moment, pushing past his embarrassment and trying his best to be honest with the child. "…No, Marlene. If you mean like a couple, then we're not together."

"Why not?"

Cloud absently felt his hand come up to his face, shading his eyes from the little girl's curious gaze. "It's complicated, Marlene… Things aren't so simple when you're an adult."

Marlene looked down at the bed, making a soft little 'hmm' in contemplation. "But it _is_ simple, though," she said after a moment. "You love Tifa and she loves you, too. If you make each other happy, shouldn't you be together?"

Cloud laughed dryly. "If only it were that easy." He shook his head empty of the thoughts that threatened to creep in. Good thoughts? Bad? He didn't know anymore. "You should go get dressed, Marlene. We can talk more later. I'm taking the next few days off."

Marlene smiled brightly, jumping off the bed. "Okay, Cloud." She paused in the doorway before leaving, turning back to him. "You know, she's told me."

"Huh?" Cloud uttered stupidly.

"She's told me that she loves you. Just so you know." She smiled again and walked off, leaving Cloud sitting there dumbly on his bed.

 _Love comes in many forms, Marlene…_ His brain began making rationalizations as quickly as he could think.

 _It could mean anything. Maybe she does love me, as a friend. Maybe even as part of this 'family' that we've worked so hard to create together. That, really,_ she _created, and I've never really done my part in… She's just that type of person. She has a lot of love to give._

_Me? I've never been any good at it. I'm still not._

_Still, just to hear that… Even if it doesn't mean what I'd like it to…_

It felt good to know that he was loved. In some way. In any way, by _her._ Was it really selfish, then, to want more from her? To want to take as much as she would give him? To relish in her little touches and soft smiles and gentle laughter?

_Of course it is. Stop thinking you'll have anything more than what you have now._

Her friendship. Her company. It was enough… Wasn't it?

Cloud sighed. He wasn't going to let his thoughts get this best of him today. He decided that he wanted to talk to Denzel. Talking to him would be another good distraction.

He had somehow forgotten, though, that Denzel was intent on learning about the truth of the incident he and Tifa had had the previous day. He knew it as soon as he knocked on the door and walked into the room, listening to Marlene's happy chatter while noting the serious expression on the little boy's face. Cloud's heart sank; he was so wrapped up in his own feelings and his own problems, that Denzel's had totally slipped his mind. He blamed himself for the sad look that was plastered firmly on the child's face.

"Morning, Denzel."

"Good morning, Cloud."

He leaned in the doorway, crossing his arms. "Did you sleep okay?"

"Fine, I guess."

"Hm."

Marlene looked between the two of them, and then stuffed the rest of her homework in her backpack. "I'm going to go ahead and get breakfast started," she announced, slinging her backpack over her shoulder and squeezing past Cloud. He lightly patted the top of her head as she walked by.

"…You wanna take a walk with me?" Cloud asked. He was almost afraid that the child would say 'no', because, for some reason, he got the feeling that he was angry at him. Denzel nodded silently, though, and gathered up his things. Cloud left to wait for him in the bar area, and the little boy came downstairs a few minutes later.

"Ready?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah."

They walked in silence for some time. Somewhere, far in the recesses of his mind, Cloud thought it was a little funny. They were a lot alike. Then again, that wasn't really funny at all.

"You… wanted me to tell you. About what happened yesterday." A statement. Not a question. Denzel nodded silently, and Cloud inhaled slowly. "Tifa and I were attacked. A very large type of monster, a behemoth, ran to us from Midgar and tried to hurt us."

"It wasn't a normal monster, was it, Cloud?" Denzel asked, ever-observant. Cloud sighed.

"No. It wasn't. We're not really sure what's going on, and that's the honest truth. But the facts are that there is an organization, that we know almost nothing about, that is targeting me and Tifa. Mostly, me. And I don't know what their intentions are with me."

Denzel was deadly silent as they walked on, passing run-down houses in the alleyways behind the bar.

"We're all in danger again, then."

"No," Cloud said abruptly. "No, they don't want anything to do with you or Marlene. I don't think they even know about you two, and that's how it's going to stay."

"But they want you and Tifa."

"No, Denzel. They just want me." Cloud stopped walking and placed his hand firmly on Denzel's shoulder, stopping the boy in his tracks as well. "Listen to me, Denzel. I'm not going to let anything happen to any of you. You're not going to ever get kidnapped again. I'll never let anyone hurt you or Marlene. Not again."

Denzel looked at the ground, scuffing his shoe across the pavement. "But… What will happen to you?"

Cloud shook his head. "You don't need to worry about me. I'll be okay."

Denzel slowly lifted his head back up to look at Cloud, his eyes more hollow than any child's should ever look. "Even with all the fighting? Even with the nightmares?"

Cloud nodded. "I've made it through before, and I'm not going to let anything stop me now. Not when I've come this far. Not when I have you guys to protect."

Denzel backed away from Cloud's touch, and turned to face away from him. "You're going to stay here and protect us? No matter what happens?"

"Denzel…" It hurt. After all he had put Denzel, Marlene, and Tifa through, none of them still fully believed that he was there to stay. How could they trust him, when every other time in the past, he had run away?

"I don't have anyone left to rely on. I'm still just a kid… And… You and Tifa…" He could hear the boy's voice shaking now.

_Enough of this..._

Swiftly, he came down and scooped the boy up into his arms, giving him a tight hug. "Denzel, no matter what happens, I will never, ever leave you again. I'll keep you safe. Marlene and Tifa, too. I don't care what monsters attack me, and I don't care who tries to bring me down. I'm not running away anymore." He pulled back, looking Denzel level in the eyes. "That's a promise."

The boy sniffed, angrily shaking his head. "I'm sick of feeling scared, Cloud. I feel scared and small and… _helpless,_ most of the time. But, when you're around… I don't feel so scared anymore."

Cloud shook his head, too. "You're anything but helpless, Denzel. You're brave, and you're strong, and you're so smart. Smarter than you realize."

"…You really think so?"

Cloud nodded. "There's nothing to be afraid of anymore, Denzel. And, I won't hide the truth from you anymore. But this is the truth, too: nothing will ever hurt you again. Not while I'm here. And I'm not going anywhere."

He released the boy from his arms, opting to squeeze his shoulder comfortingly as they continued along the empty street. "I wanna learn to fight, too," Denzel eventually said. "I know I have nothing to be afraid of, but… I want to learn to defend myself. I don't want to feel helpless anymore."

Cloud thought about it for a moment, then nodded solemnly. "I'll teach you. Not today, but soon. Okay?"

"Okay."

They finished the rest of their walk in relative silence, save for quiet questions from Denzel.

"Should I tell Marlene what's going on?"

"I think it'd be better not to worry her. Don't you?"

"…Yeah. Probably."

"I'll teach her to fight someday, too – when she's a little older. Or maybe Tifa can train her in martial arts. She could train you, as well."

"I want a weapon."

"…Alright. A weapon it is, then." Cloud paused as they rounded the corner to the 7th Heaven. "Denzel…" The boy looked up at him, and for a moment, Cloud saw someone much older than the child who stood before him. Someone with wisdom beyond his years; someone who had felt the pain of despair at an age where he should know nothing of the sort. "We're gonna have a great day together," Cloud reassured him. "All of us."

"I know." Denzel smiled at the blonde, his expression genuine, and Cloud smiled back. Denzel had faced enough turmoil in his young life; Cloud was determined to fill the rest of the child's days with nothing but love, security, and happiness.

**•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

A couple of hours had passed since the kids had left for school, and Cloud was busying himself by wiping down each of the tables in the unseated booths. Tifa walked into the dining area, holding a clipboard and pen in her hands. "So," she started, tapping her pen on the clipboard lightly. "Party planning. So far I've got a list of ingredients that I'll need to make dinner for everyone, some notes on a couple of other random things, and now I'm working on activities. I'm thinking... beer pong?"

Cloud paused in his work, wrinkling his nose up in slight confusion. " _Beer_ pong?"

"Yeah. It's a party, right? Haven't you ever played before?"

He thought for a moment. "I went to a couple of parties when I was in training with Shinra, but I never really..." _Socialized._ Hell, the only reason he had ever even gone was because Zack had talked him into it. In one instance, Zack had literally dragged him to the party by force. He shook the muddled memories from his head. "...No, I haven't played before."

Tifa laughed. "Well, you'll get a chance to try it, then. We used to play sometimes at our old 7th Heaven… It was fun. And of course I've got cards and poker chips somewhere, and extra board games for the kids... But I feel like I'm forgetting something..."

Cloud cocked his head to the side. "Tifa, are you going all out for yourself, or for everybody else to have fun?"

Her smile widened. "Both."

They continued working together for the rest of the day, making small talk that was more than enjoyable. Cloud couldn't remember the last time they had been able to talk about things that were particularly insubstantial, but he felt himself lightening up, and Tifa was lightening up as well. Every smile of hers felt like a gift, every laugh a blessing. Before long, Cloud was feeling that familiar gravitational pull that she somehow never noticed that she exuded. He couldn't get the feeling of holding her, of watching her sleeping face out of his head. He didn't want to.

They spent a lot of time in close proximity to each other, and Cloud relished in it; usually, it was comfortable, such as when they chopped various vegetables beside each other, chatting easily. At other times, though, Cloud found himself blushing, chastising himself when he remembered that he had no right to cross the line with her. He came dangerously close to pressing those boundaries when he noticed a smudge of flour on the corner of her mouth.

"What is it?" she asked, noticing the bemused expression on his face.

"You managed to keep _most_ of the flour on your apron," he remarked, reaching out and gently wiping the substance away with his thumb. Her widened eyes and blushing cheeks caused him to blush as well, and he cleared his throat, awkwardly excusing himself out of the kitchen for a few moments.

The restaurant filled up for the lunch rush not long after that, and it was enough to keep Cloud from ruminating on his thoughts, both good and bad. Though he wasn't found of interacting with the customers, working was an enjoyable distraction. Tifa let him spend most of his time in the kitchen, away from the hustle and bustle of waiting tables. Once she had gotten all of the orders out, the brunette had stepped into the kitchen for a short break, leaning against the counter and drinking a tall glass of water. "Forgot to show you this," Cloud mentioned as she set her glass down. He pulled out the fancy invitation Reeve had given him yesterday and handed it to her.

"A WRO gala?" she inquired.

Cloud nodded. "Reeve said invite whoever we'd like. Mentioned that he could use the added security."

"Guess we're going, then," Tifa said, before giggling quietly.

"What is it?"

"Formal dress is required." She smiled slyly.

"My clothes are formal enough."

"Not for a black tie affair, they aren't." She quickly washed her glass and made her way back into the bar area, brushing past Cloud as she did. "Can't wait to see Cloud Strife in a tux." Cloud blushed, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, and decided to spend the rest of his afternoon in the safe seclusion of the empty kitchen.

**•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

The day passed easily, and even though Cloud had a nervous knot in his stomach, it was one of the best days he'd had in a _long_ time. The sun faded from the sky quicker than he had anticipated, and the first hints of springtime were creeping in, as the night was comfortably warm and the faraway scent of pollen floated freely through the air. _Plants_ , Cloud mused. _Plants and flowers would be nice in the bar._ He swatted at a lone mosquito, out a bit early in the season, and vaguely wondered how much time it would take before the grass began to grow in Edge. _All Shinra's fault,_ he reminded himself, remembering a time when he couldn't care less about the state of the Planet. Now, however, the fact that the earth beneath his feet was dead and barren felt important. The bitterness that he felt towards the former company dissipated when he looked at Marlene's smiling little face. She and Denzel had come home a few hours ago, both in high spirits despite having their first day back at school after their suspension. Although Marlene's eye was still a little bit bruised, she didn't seem to care in the slightest. Cloud wished that she had green grass to play bare-footed on, just like he had when he was a child.

"Cloud, how much longer are they gonna take?" Marlene inquired, pure excitement radiating from her form.

"Probably not too much longer." Cloud felt his stomach tremble nervously, nodding politely as a young couple walked up the front porch steps into the bar. He was excited too; still nervous, very much, but excited. Tifa and Denzel were busying themselves inside the bar while Marlene waited outside, looking for any signs of the Shera's large shadow. "Come on, Marlene. Let's go help Tifa and Denzel. It'll make the time pass faster."

"Okay," she said, her eyes still searching the skies eagerly.

The night rush picked up pretty quickly, and before he knew it, Cloud was helping push out orders along with the kids. "Teef," he called, catching her arm as she walked past. "I know it's really busy, but… Is there anything else I can help with?" She gave him a once-over and smiled, and he knew she had picked up on the fact that he still wasn't very comfortable with directly interacting with the customers; that was better suited to the charismatic kids and Tifa's welcoming charm.

"Dish duty?" she asked, the corner of her lip curving up cutely.

"Dish duty sounds great."

The hours passed by like that, and Cloud still found himself having an enjoyable time. He could hear the kids chattering happily as they waited tables, and Tifa came in from time to time to refill drinks and tend to the never-ending cooking.

"I was thinking about actually starting a menu instead of just pushing out house specials every night," Tifa commented, making comfortable small talk. "I think it'd bring a lot more business if I turned this into more of a family restaurant than a bar, you know? Plus I love having the kids around, and the sweet old couples... Much better than all the skeeves I served at the old 7th Heaven."

Cloud made a slight 'hmmph', something between a chuckle and a sound of displeasure.

"What is it?"

Cloud set the last few dirty plates in the sink, his eyes faraway. "I was thinking... plants."

Tifa blinked. "Plants?"

"...Yeah. Plants, in the bar. Bring some fresh air in here... Maybe some... paint, too. I don't know..."

"You wanna renovate the bar?" she asked, paused in her potato-chopping.

"Well, yeah... You were thinking about changing some things up too, right? Since I'm around now... I could help... Get the kids in on it, too."

She smiled. "I'd love that, Cloud."

Night fell not too long after, and as the dinner rush slowed down, Cloud took his seat at the bar, keeping Tifa and the kids company up front. There was still no sign of the Shera, and Marlene was growing more and more restless by the minute. Denzel seemed to be feeding off of her energy, as well. The entire bar felt like it was buzzing; there were even more drunken customers loitering than usual - especially for a Monday night.

One particularly inebriated man had sauntered up to the bar and stayed there for quite a while, his eyes hungrily following Tifa wherever she went. Cloud's terrifying glares weren't enough to scare him off, and that frazzled something deep at his core. "Hey, sweetheart," the man called to her eventually. Tifa immediately donned a smile that Cloud knew was fake. It wasn't quite the same as when she was pretending to be happy around him. It was far less genuine than that, but Tifa's smiles were so sweet that most people fell for them anyway.

"Can I help you?" she asked, her voice light and chipper.

"Yeah... I'm new to this place. Just got my ass out of Midgar; took me too damn long, too. So, uh, I was wonderin' if you could show me around sometime?" He smiled slyly, and Cloud felt his fists clench atop the bar. "Ya know, I could take ya somewhere real nice in return," he said, winking for good measure.

Tifa held her sweet smile, cocking her head slightly. "I'm afraid I'm not interested. But, if you need help getting to know the town, you could always ask my friend here if he'd show you around." She lightly jerked her head towards Cloud, and the drunken man finally took a long moment to regard the swordsman, his chest deflating as he did so.

"Think I'll pass..." he said after a moment. He finished his drink, paid his tab, and left pretty quickly. Cloud was grateful; if he had tried anything stupid, Tifa would have been angry with the way he would have handled it. It would have ended with unconsciousness and at least a little bit of blood, and not on Cloud's end.

"Yeah, I definitely want a family restaurant," Tifa commented absently. "Haven't been hit on like that in quite a while. Makes me feel... uncomfortable."

Cloud frowned. _You get hit on by Trent all the time_ , he thought. _Maybe you just don't notice it because..._

He shook his head; if he finished that thought, his previously good mood would be ruined. Tifa blushed, making herself busy with the cash register and the pile of receipts next to it, when the little chime on the door 'dinged' quietly. Somehow, Cloud knew it wasn't Barret or Cid.

_Speak of the devil..._

"Trent?" Tifa called, uncertainty laced in her voice.

"Hey there, Tifa," he replied. He sounded nervous. "Evenin', Cloud," he added offhandedly, leaning against the bar. Cloud gritted his teeth, nodding in acknowledgement. "I, uh..." Trent looked around the bar for a moment, waving to Marlene and Denzel, who were seated at a table, eating their own dinner. His eyes darted back to the barmaid. "Um, Tifa? Could I... speak with you privately for a moment?"

Cloud's eyes narrowed instantly, and Tifa opened and closed her mouth, her cheeks tingeing rouge. "Uh, yeah. Okay," she said, nodding her head. "Um, come with me." She led him into the kitchen, and he made no further acknowledgement of Cloud's presence as he followed her. The blonde stood up abruptly, deciding that, yeah, his good mood was gone, and it was time for a drink. He looked up as he poured himself a short whiskey behind the bar, and saw that Denzel and Marlene's little faces were staring at him intently; they pretended to be uninterested as soon as he noticed them.

Sitting back down in _his_ seat at the bar, he could hear their conversation, whether he wanted to or not. He considered going to his room, but that would be too obvious. He knew, though, that Tifa was very aware that he could hear their hushed voices through the thick wall.

"I have a birthday present for you, but... It comes with some stipulations."

"What? Trent-"

"Just listen, Tifa. Now... You've been working hard. Very, very hard. And I know that you're stressed out."

Silence.

"So... I got to thinkin', and, well, I thought maybe you need a vacation. A _real_ vacation. So I, uh, got you these tickets. There's three of 'em, one for you and each of the kids-"

Three tickets.

"-and that'll get you a nice boat ride to Costa del Sol for a few days."

"Trent-"

"Now the dates are listed on here, and here's your hotel information, it's already paid for-"

"Trent-"

"But you gotta go on this _exact_ date, or you won't make it. You have to stay for this _exact_ amount of time, or-"

 _"Trent!"_ She sighed audibly. "This is... incredibly kind of you, but... I can't accept."

"But Tifa-"

"I have to stay here and run the bar, and... take care of things. I can't just up and leave, even if everything is paid for and taken care of."

"I'll watch the bar for you. As part of your gift."

A long stretch of silence.

"...No. Thank you, but no."

"Tifa, please... I don't understand."

"It's just... too much. It's expensive and it feels too personal, and I just... I just can't leave here right now, okay?"

"But you _have_ to leave!" His words were hushed, almost fervent in their nature.

"Why?"

"...I can't explain that. You just, really, _really_ need this vacation, okay? Do you understand? You _need_ it."

More silence.

"Look, hold onto this, okay? Don't get rid of it. Don't give it to someone else. Just, please, take the vacation."

"Trent-"

"I'm gonna be leaving here soon. Got some business to tend to. But, please... _Take the vacation_." With that, he hurriedly made to leave, nearly knocking into Cloud as he did. That didn't sit well with the swordsman, and he stood again, the barstool scraping against the floor roughly. The tall man stopped in his tracks, turned, and regarded Cloud, his eyes cutting into the blonde just as roughly as Cloud's own glare cut into the plumber's. Trent nodded too stiffly, too formally.

_I'm onto you..._

Tifa had appeared from the kitchen, holding the tickets and paperwork with both hands to her chest. "Happy birthday," Trent said, his eyes slipping away from Cloud's, before quickly disappearing out the front door without another word. Tifa sighed, exasperated, flipping through the paperwork and taking a long moment to stare at the boat tickets.

"He only got us three..." she said, more to herself than out loud.

Cloud sat back down and took a long drink of his whiskey, avoiding looking at the pretty brunette. "What are the dates?" he asked.

Tifa was silent for a moment. "The 5th through the 8th... Two days after my birthday..."

"One day after the WRO Gala."

"Right..." Her voice trailed off with her thoughts. "It must have just been the dates that were available. It's such a nice gift, but..."

"I don't trust it."

She looked at him incredulously. "Cloud..."

"I don't. I don't trust it and I don't trust him. He's up to something."

She crossed her arms, paperwork still in hand. "You know, sometimes people just do nice things for each other for no reason."

"Not that guy."

"Cloud... He's my _friend_. I trust him."

Cloud downed the rest of his whiskey, setting it down firmly on the bar. "Well, maybe you should be more careful with who you choose to trust." He pushed himself off of his stool, feeling a familiar sense of anger wash over him, and strode up the stairs purposefully. Tifa simply stared at him, her mouth slightly agape.

 _"Cloud,"_ she called after him again, but he ignored her. He could feel her eyes watching him as he left, could feel Marlene and Denzel's, too, and a certain sense of unease seemed to coat the atmosphere of the lively bar.

_Don't know what game he's playing at... But I'm not about to play._

He shut his bedroom door roughly and plopped down in his desk chair, running his hands through his hair, aggravated. There was just _something_ about that guy that gave him a bad gut feeling, and usually, Cloud could trust his gut. He had sounded so desperate for Tifa to accept his gift; what was the point? Was he trying to lead her and the kids into some sort of trap? Or was he just trying to get under Cloud's skin? If that was the case, he was doing a damn good job.

Cloud shook his head, ruminating over Trent's words and actions and tiny, insignificant mannerisms for far too long.

_He said that he would be leaving soon... Going away for some 'business'..._

Meaning that Cloud would have a hard time finding him, if he wanted to confront him - and that was something that was quickly becoming a solid option in his mind.

_Going away while he sends Tifa and the kids on a vacation..._

Would he be going close to Costa del Sol? Would he be waiting for them? If so... _why?_

_But he also said he would run the bar while Tifa was gone..._

It didn't make any sense. Everything about his interaction with Tifa didn't make any sense, and it was driving him crazy. Besides, he could run the bar for Tifa just fine, if for some reason she _did_ decide she wanted to take a vacation.

 _Maybe you're scared that she's gonna leave,_ his mind supplied, pulling him towards darker thoughts. _Show you how it feels to be left alone, like you left her. Make you feel the pain you caused her._

 _Shut up,_ he warned himself, stupidly, pointlessly trying to block his own thoughts.

 _Maybe you're overthinking this, like you overthink everything else. Maybe you're just jealous that_ you _didn't get invited to go with the rest of the family. Maybe you're scared that Tifa will take the kids and leave you here all alone. Maybe you're scared that she'll fall in love with-_

 _"Shut up,"_ he scolded himself aloud.

_See, there you go again. Talking to yourself and fighting your own thoughts._

And this time, those thoughts weren't anyone else's but his own.

_Crazy bastard._

**•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

If nothing else, Cloud could predict Tifa's actions perfectly - at least, he could when he knew how she felt. He had sat in his room for about an hour, tormenting himself with a barrage of toxic thoughts, while Tifa presumably went through the process of being angry at him, calming down, and preparing the perfect lecture to assault him with. Just as he suspected, there were footsteps coming down the hallway, footsteps that echoed clearly above the quiet lull of the customers' chatter, and two soft knocks played at his door. "Come in," he called, gulping down the nauseated feeling that was bubbling up from his stomach.

"Hey, you," she said, pushing open the door. She stood there silently for a moment, and Cloud didn't bother to face her. He couldn't bear to see that angry look on her face right now. "Are you done feeling sorry for yourself?"

"Who said I was feeling sorry for myself," he countered, feeling his own frustration begin to rise again. Frustration that was unfairly aimed at _her_.

"I did," she said, shutting the door behind herself and plopping down on Cloud's bed. "Every time you get upset, you start feeling sorry for yourself, and you go in circles and you beat yourself up until you practically hate yourself."

Cloud turned in his chair, hiding his face from her view. _Damn,_ she was observant. She could always see right through him, and it left him feeling naked and vulnerable. Cloud didn't like feeling vulnerable - in all his years of fighting, he never allowed anyone or anything to find an opening, a weak point. And yet, somehow, Tifa knew exactly where all of his weak points were.

"How do you know that?" he mused, the question directed more to himself than to her.

He heard her adjust herself on the bed, likely pulling her legs up and wrapping her arms around them protectively. "Because I know you."

He sighed, and slowly turned his chair towards her, shame apparent on his face. "Of course you do." She did. She knew more about him than he did, sometimes.

She nodded, her brow furrowing seriously. They were both silent for a few moments, until Tifa spoke again, her voice softer this time. "I decided... I'm not going on the vacation. I'm gonna give the tickets back to Trent... If I see him again."

Slight confusion traced the features of Cloud's face. "What do you mean?"

She shrugged her shoulders, her arms still wrapped around herself. "I don't know. He was talking kind of funny. I think..." She made a small sound, perhaps a laugh, even though she didn't seem like she felt that the subject was very funny. "I think I hurt his feelings the other day... And now I wonder if he'll even continue to be my friend any longer."

Cloud cocked his head slightly, letting his curiosity get the best of him. "What happened?"

Tifa sighed, and blushed furiously. "He... asked me out. On a date." Cloud's heart sank immediately; the last traces of frustration left him and were replaced with pure disappointment. He said nothing, his face blank and his composure tight. Tifa didn't need to see how those words stung like a bolt of Ice materia through his chest. She didn't need to see how it made him want to grab her and kiss her and tell her how badly _he'd_ like to take her out on a date right then and there.

_Yeah, a date. You know how well that went the last time you tried that._

"I turned him down," she said abruptly.

Cloud gulped, unable to contain the stupid question that bubbled up to the forefront of his mind. "Why?"

She was very quiet, her eyes tracing the floorboards. "...I just. Didn't want to."

"...Oh."

"Yeah."

An uncomfortable silence fell between them, until Tifa finally sighed heavily and unwrapped herself, stretching out her legs near Cloud's own.

"I'm not angry at you, you know."

_You should be._

"I know."

"Are you angry at me?" she questioned.

" _Gods_ , no. Why would I ever be mad at you?"

She cocked her head to the side, hesitantly reaching out and pushing a stray tuft of blonde hair away from Cloud's face. "You don't need to feel bad."

_I do._

"I shouldn't have acted that way towards you."

"I told you no more apologies."

"I feel like all the apologies in the world would never be enough." The words had tumbled out before he could stop himself, and somehow, he knew that Tifa knew what he meant. He didn't mean apologies just for today.

She smiled, small and delicate, but unwaveringly real. "Come back downstairs with us," she suggested. "We were having such a good day together."

 _And I went and screwed everything up,_ Cloud thought sourly. _Like always._

"I see that look on your face, and I know what you're thinking," she scolded lightly. "I'm not going to let you sit up here and feel bad the rest of the night. Come on." She tugged on his wrists lightly, standing and pulling him up with her. His frown was etched deeply into his features, and his eyes avoided direct contact with hers; he was too ashamed, sitting alone and brooding again, while Tifa did everything in her power to cheer him up. Even when she felt just as bad as him. Even when she felt worse.

She reached out again and caressed his face lightly, and he closed his eyes, finally giving in to the way her cool fingertips grazed his skin so softly. So gently and so kindly... Touch that was undeserved. When his eyes finally opened, she was looking at him tenderly. "It's okay," she said. "I know this is hard for you. But... Please..." Her eyes glanced away for only a moment before returning to his. "Try for me, alright? Just come back downstairs with me."

_Try..._

Really, it was all she ever asked of him. He nodded once, slowly and surely. If it would make Tifa happy again... If it would make things right... He would do anything she asked of him. His feelings didn't really matter, anyway. Hers were so, _so_ much more important.

**•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

Despite Cloud's unrelenting negativity, Tifa's optimism was almost contagious at times. Times like now, with her excitement radiating almost as strongly as Marlene's own for seeing Barret and Cid. Even Denzel was running around and joking, acting like a normal, happy kid for once. She had somehow succeeded in cheering Cloud up, simply by being herself. He didn't know how she did it. It was just one of those things she was good at. When she was happy, she was really, _really_ happy, and it spread like sunshine to everyone around her - including him and his gloomy skies. He had even almost forgotten about Trent, and maybe even Deepground, for a fleeting moment.

The clock ticked slowly, and at some point, the kids' bedtime had passed hours ago. Both children had purposefully fought sleep, although Denzel had succumbed more easily to his heavy eyelids, eventually napping at a booth table, but Marlene's excitement had kept her energized to the point of bursting. It was long after the last customers had filtered out and the "open" sign on the front of the window had been switched to "closed" before the loud roar of an SUV announced the arrival of Barret and Cid. _They must have landed the Shera in the fields outside of Edge,_ Cloud mused.

"Papa! PAPA!" Marlene cried, jumping out of her chair and running right out the front door. Tifa didn't try to stop her, but instead, chased after her, her smile radiant.

"Come on, Denzel," Cloud encouraged the boy who had been startled awake, jogging out the door as well. He smiled, rubbing his eyes, and was quickly in tow behind the blonde.

"PAPAAAAA!"

And there they were - the figure of a hulking man emerging from the front seat of the vehicle; a slightly younger, smaller man exiting the passenger side.

"MARLENE!" the large man's voice boomed. "There's my baby girl!"

The reunion was sweet, and Cloud couldn't help but smile softly. Barret picked up Marlene and whirled her around, hugging her and refusing to let her go. Tifa was quickly in his arms as well, as Barret was huge and strong enough to hold up Marlene while allowing the barmaid to hug onto the other half of his body.

"Barret! We missed you so much!" Tifa laughed, absolutely jubilant. "Cid! We missed you too!" She ran to the other man, giving him such a huge hug that it almost knocked him off balance.

"Good to see ya too!" he guffawed.

"Hey Cid," Cloud called, moving purposefully to meet him with a strong handshake and a hearty pat on the back. "Hey, Barret," he turned to the large man, an amused grin on his face. Barret let Marlene slide out of his arm, and he pulled Cloud into a crushing hug before the blonde could refuse, laughing heartily.

"What's up, Spiky! So good to see ya!" He released the swordsman and rubbed his knuckles roughly through the younger man's hair. Cloud shook his head and rubbed at the back of his neck, thoroughly embarrassed. Yep, things were as they always were; Barret had already managed to irritate him. Oddly enough, Cloud sort of missed it.

"Denzel, this is my Papa!" Marlene said to the boy. "You never really got to meet him. And this is Cid! They're best friends with Tifa and Cloud!"

Tifa nodded. "That's right. Why don't we all go in and catch up? I'll make the two of you some dinner."

It took a short time for everyone to be seated at the biggest booth in the corner of the restaurant, two large plates of dumplings resting in front of the weathered men.

"Oh, _man_ have I missed your cookin'," Barret remarked. Tifa giggled, pouring the two men a large glass of Corel wine each.

"So," she started, scooting into the booth next to Cloud. "Fill us in. What's been going on? Have you made any progress on your work?"

"Well… Sort of," Barret replied. "We've found some oil reserves, but they're small and they won't last long. Especially with all the power that Edge and the remains of Midgar need. And in the end, oil is just about as bad as coal. It'll just end up hurting us in the long run."

Cloud and Tifa both frowned. Barret's eyes jumped between the two of them as he popped a dumpling in his mouth, chewing it and swallowing it quickly. "The good news is that the WRO seems to be interested in helping the cause. Reeve was talking my head off about some sort of 'clean energy initiative'. I only listened to half of what he was saying," he laughed. "But it sounded good."

" ' _Clean energy initiative?'_ ", Cloud repeated. "I wonder if that's what the big WRO announcement is?"

Barret shrugged. "Who knows."

"Uh, speaking of which," Cloud piped up again, "have you heard about the WRO Gala?"

"Yep, me and Cid are gonna attend as bodyguards."

The blonde nodded. "So are me and Tifa."

Tifa smiled, turning her attention to the pilot who was too busy scarfing down his meal to talk. "What about you, Cid? How is Shera?"

"Shera's great. More than great, actually. And the wife's not doing too bad either." Cid laughed at his own lame joke, and Tifa rolled her eyes at him.

"Ha-ha, very funny," she teased. Cloud felt a smirk tug at the corner of his lips.

"Really though, everything is going pretty good. Reeve's gonna help me out too, I guess," he supplied. "I haven't discussed too many details with him, and I'm glad I haven't, cause that man talks too god damn much." Barret nodded in agreement, and Cloud frowned.

_Wish he would have talked "too much" to me. I can't get a damn word out of him._

"But he said he's gonna allocate some funds to a new space exploration unit. It won't be much at first, but it should be enough to create a small team in my stead."

"In your stead?" Tifa questioned. Cloud wondered, too. Cid wanted nothing more than to explore the universe.

"Well, yeah. It's gonna be kinda hard being in the middle of everything, with Shera being pregnant and all."

"Pregnant!?" Tifa exclaimed, her features lighting up. "Oh Cid, that's so exciting! Congratulations!"

Cloud smiled. "Congrats," he added.

"Thank ya, thank ya. I'm excited, but I'm nervous, too. I'll still be involved in the space program. Hell, I'll basically be running it. Show those little bastards how it's done. But Shera and my kids will be my first priority."

"Kids?" Cloud questioned.

"Twins."

Tifa's hands flew to her mouth, pure excitement radiating from her. Barret and Denzel were smiling, too. "Can we come and see the babies sometime after they're born?" Marlene asked, and Cid turned to the little girl and gave her a thumbs-up.

"Hell yeah! Y'all can all come visit whenever you like. Just give me a ring first. I'm a little cranky when company is unexpected, even if it's close friends." He laughed heartily, pulling a cigarette from his pack and lighting it.

"CID!" Tifa bellowed, standing up and snatching the offending cigarette right from Cid's mouth before dropping it into her own glass of water. The older man simply stared at her in disbelief for a second's time.

"WOMAN, WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" he yelled back.

"You know we don't smoke in this bar! And the kids are right here beside you!" she countered.

"What kind of bar lets you drink but don't let you smoke in it?!"

"Mine!"

"Well, why the hell not?!"

"Because I said so! That's why!"

Things were getting loud, fast, but it was sort of amusing. Cloud and Barret made eye contact and for the briefest moment, shared in the humor together. Marlene and Denzel just looked bewildered. They hadn't seen Tifa yell very often, even if it was somewhat in jest.

"Look, if you want to smoke, go out on the front porch," she stated firmly. "Light up in here again and I'll smack the whole pack off of your head!"

"The hell you won't!"

Tifa childishly stuck her tongue out at Cid before grabbing her cigarette-water and their empty plates and heading into the kitchen. Cloud shook his head, trying not to laugh. He knew that she wasn't really mad, but she was serious, as well. Something had really gotten into her since this morning.

_Only thing that's changed since last night is-_

"God damn it, can't even smoke a cigarette in peace anymore. Come on, Cloud."

"What?"

"Come step outside and smoke this damn cigarette with me."

He blinked. "I don't smoke."

"I _know_ that, dumbass, but since Queen Tifa won't let her old friend smoke in her bar, come outside with me and keep me company."

"Um...Okay. I guess."

Cloud followed the older man out to the front porch and gently shut the door behind him, hearing Barret question Marlene about her eye before it closed. He frowned as Cid pulled a cigarette from the pack he kept tucked in the strap of his goggles and lit it with the slightest hint of irritation, taking a long drag and leaning against the rail of the wooden porch. "That Tifa sure is somethin' else. Sure is nice to see all of ya lookin' so happy, though," he commented. "I was wonderin' what would happen to you kids after everything went down. But it seems like you've made a pretty decent life for yourselves."

Cloud nodded, humming in acknowledgement.

"Don't think I've ever seen you smile so much," he added. "You used to always have this angry look on your face. But with such a pretty lady around, who wouldn't smile?" He laughed to himself, and took another drag off his cigarette. Cloud shuffled uncomfortably, opting to stay silent. "You know, Cloud," Cid continued, "when I first met Shera, I didn't know what I wanted. Hell, I didn't even know I liked her. Sometimes she pissed me off, but other times, I felt like I was fallin' in love with her."

Cloud shook his head, turning to head back inside. "I'm gonna stop you right there, Cid." He knew where Cid was going with this, and he wasn't about to have this conversation with him. But then, he felt a strong hand holding onto his shoulder.

"Now hold on there, chocobo-brains. I ain't finished my cigarette yet and you're gonna stay out here with me 'til I'm done."

Cloud shrugged his hand off, slightly irritated. He crossed his arms, unhappy that his friend thought he could tell him what to do, and unsure of why he was actually following his order. Cid took another casual drag, and he didn't seem to care about Cloud's current demeanor.

"…I made mistakes," he continued. "I didn't treat Shera very well for a long time. After everything that had happened… It took a lot for me to realize how much she had helped me. That she had even saved my life. And even though I might have hated her at one point, my feelings changed. You understand that, don't you?" Cloud nodded silently. "You're a smart kid, Cloud. A smart man, with a good heart and a strong will. I admire that about you."

"...Thanks," the swordsman replied, somewhat awkwardly.

"But you're an idiot."

Cloud blinked. "Excuse me?"

"I said, you're an _idiot_ if you don't tell Tifa how you feel about her, and soon. You don't come across a woman like that every day, and I haven't seen someone as lovesick as you are in ages. And let me tell ya, kid, I've got more than a decade on ya, so I've seen a lot of shit." He puffed his cigarette again, flicking the ash off of the burning end. "And don't act like you're surprised that I can tell," he added, noting the incredulous look on Cloud's face. "It's obvious to everybody, except for her. I swear y'all two were made for each other."

Cloud leaned over the railing next to Cid, dropping his head down. "You don't understand," he said, changing his tone and feeling strangely compelled to open up, just a little bit. "It's... complicated." He stopped talking just as soon as he had begun; that was as open as he could get.

Cid nodded in understanding, taking his final drag and squeezing the ember out of his cigarette onto the ground below the railing. "Everything's complicated, ain't it? I mean, hell, we all could have died two years ago, but that didn't stop us from trying. And whaddaya know, we won. We got what we wanted, didn't we?" Cid stuffed his cigarette butt in his pocket, pushing himself off the wooden rail coolly. "Ain't nothin' in this life simple or easy, Cloud. You of all people should know that. But, sometimes the most complicated things are worth the most effort. Even if it's scary or hard sometimes, ya know?" He looked at Cloud with an air of sincerity and wisdom, and for the shortest moment, Cloud really considered his words. Maybe Cid could tell, because he switched topics in an instant, attempting to clear the air of its sincere tone. "What ain't complicated is this business offer I wanna make with you."

"Business offer?" Cloud repeated, feeling a little dumb. "You haven't said anything about a business offer…"

"Nope, not until now," Cid replied, opening the front door and reentering the bar. "You see, it's pretty simple. I'm going to be spending most of my time at home once Shera has the babies." Cloud nodded, taking his seat at the bar and noting that Barret and the kids had made their way upstairs. Tifa was making noise in the kitchen. "Barret uses my airship to look for oil, but I'm not sure what his future plans are, or how often he'll need to use it. And, well, I'm gonna need a little extra cash to help support my family, while I stay home with them. So I was thinking…" He tapped his fingers on the bar as he thought. "I rent you the Shera to use for your deliveries, for a small fee. Just enough to help me bring in a little extra income. And you can use it to deliver larger cargo, or more cargo, or the same cargo – whatever the hell you want - quicker than you do right now. I know your bike is fast, but my airship is faster."

Cloud thought about it. The offer was interesting.

"We might start delivering raw materials soon, too. Barret's oil, or other things like that. If you make the actual deliveries, we'll split the profit sixty-forty for every product of mine that you deliver. I don't know how Barret wants to split things up, but we can talk with him and figure that out later. That's my proposal, though. It's on the table."

"I'll think about it, Cid."

"Good deal, my man," the older man said as he patted Cloud heartily on the shoulder. "Good deal." He sauntered off towards the tiny, open living room, and plopped down heavily on the couch. "Tell you what… Between piloting the Shera and coming home to a pregnant wife… I'm beat. At least the airship don't nag at me." He chuckled to himself, and Cloud cocked his head to the side, a quizzical expression crossing his face.

"Cid… If you'll be busy at home with your family while I use your airship to make deliveries… Who's gonna pilot it?"

"You, obviously. Who else?"

"…Me?"

"Yeah." He rose up from the couch enough to look at Cloud from over the back of it, shrugging his shoulders. "You're the only person I'd trust to fly it. Of course, I'd have to give you some lessons, first."

"Of course…" Cloud echoed.

Cid flopped back down when Cloud said nothing more, tucking his hands behind his head casually. "You've got plenty of time to think it over."

"Right."

"…Kinda funny," he murmured, chuckling to himself. "This ain't where I'd imagined I'd be, even just a few years ago. Gettin' ready to raise a family… Overseeing a new space program, rather than actually getting into the fray myself… Hell, even seeing a new space program launch at all… Funny how much things change." He quietly chuckled again as Cloud listened intently. "Even funnier thing is… I sort of feel… Scared. After all the shit I've been through – all the monsters I've fought – I feel scared to see those cute little babies' faces, because I've never had anything so small and helpless rely on me before…"

Cloud hummed a soft "hmm" in acknowledgement. It wasn't exactly the same, but he understood a little bit; Marlene and Denzel weren't babies, but they were children. Children that relied on him.

"Don't worry about it, Cid," he reassured him. "I'm sure you'll know what to do when the time comes."

"Ya think so?" The older man's voice was heavier than Cloud expected it to be. More tired and forlorn. It was something unusual for the loud, cocky man.

"No… I don't think so. I know so." The corner of Cloud's mouth quirked up into a slight smirk as he rose from the barstool, making his way towards the kitchen. "If there's anything you're good at, it's being an asshole." Cloud heard a grunt of disapproval from the couch. "But you're probably the nicest asshole I've ever met. And you're gonna love your kids." He shrugged. "What else does it take to raise them?"

 _What else_ does _it take?_ he wondered idly.

Cid laughed, the sound fuller and more hearty this time. "I guess you're right… For once."

Cloud chuckled dryly, opting to ignore his own question for the time being, and paused before disappearing through the kitchen doorway. "You'll make a great dad," he commented honestly.

"…Thanks, Cloud."

He nodded, more to himself than anyone else, and found Tifa prepping what looked like tomorrow's dinner. She smiled fondly at him as he walked in, and Cloud's heart skipped a beat.

"Tifa, do you ever take a break from your chores?"

"Sometimes… When I feel like it," she replied, her smile radiant.

Cloud walked behind her and slipped his arms around her, grasping the knife in her right hand and the onion in her left. "You should get some sleep… Finish prep tomorrow."

"I-I'm almost done," she stammered, but slowly relinquished the items from her grip and allowed Cloud to take them into his own.

"I'll help you in the morning. It's late."

They took some time to put the ingredients and dishes away in their proper places, and by the time they had finished, Cid was already beginning to fall asleep. Tifa offered him to sleep in her bed, but he refused. She told him she'd bring him some blankets and a pillow, and his only response was a mumbled 'thanks'.

Cloud followed her up the stairs, intending to carry the bedding back to Cid, despite knowing that Tifa was more than capable of doing so herself. He could hear Barret's deep voice over the sound of furniture scraping across the floor, followed by laughter from both of the children. He smiled.

"What's going on in here?" Tifa inquired, leaning in the doorway and smiling as well.

"Storytime slumber party!" Marlene answered excitedly. The bedside table had been moved out of the way and both children's beds were scooted up beside each other, essentially creating one queen-sized bed.

"Well, this looks fun," she commented. "Can we join?"

"Sure," the large man said, patting the bed on his left side; Marlene and Denzel were sitting in front of him, listening intently.

"I'll grab Cid's blankets," Cloud offered, amusement lacing his voice. He grabbed what he needed from the small hallway closet, but Cid didn't wake when he brought everything to him. He shook his head, leaving the bedding in a pile at his feet, and made his way back upstairs. Tifa was sitting cross-legged beside Barret, mirroring the children as they listened to him tell some sort of story about a moogle family. His facial expressions were lively, as were his gestures, bringing more emphasis to his words. Cloud leaned in the doorway and crossed his arms, thoroughly amused.

"You're not doing the voice right!" Marlene criticized after a moment. "You're supposed to do the fat moogle voice for Papa Moogle!"

Barret caught Cloud's eyes for a moment, and the blonde smirked. "Yeah, Barret. Do the fat moogle voice."

"Everybody wants to hear it," Tifa added playfully.

With a sigh, Barret puffed out his chest, and did his best impression of a fat, adorable, dumb-sounding creature. "I can't fly anymore!" he exclaimed, his throat tight and voice high, as if there really were too much fat constricting his vocal cords. "If I eat another kupo nut, I'm gonna explode!" He emphasized his words by pushing his belly out as far as he could and forcing a couple of double-chins down his neck. The kids burst out laughing, and Tifa giggled quietly. It was actually a pretty good impression.

Cloud and Tifa waited until Barret had finished his silly story, leaving both of the kids giggling wildly. "One more!" Marlene had asked excitedly, but Barret shook his head.

"It's time for you to go to sleep, kiddo. It's way past your bedtime, I'm sure."

"Oh yeah," Tifa agreed, nodding her head. "And you two have school in the morning."

"But Papa…" Marlene protested. "I just want to spend more time with you…"

"Aww, Marlene," Barret cooed, pulling the little girl into a hug. "Don't worry, I'll be here when you get home from school tomorrow. I was actually thinking of staying for a few days… That is, if Cloud and Tifa don't mind?"

"Barret!" Tifa sounded offended. "You know you're welcome here any time you want. No need to ask. Right, Cloud?"

Cloud nodded, though it really wasn't up to him. Through and through, this was still Tifa's bar. Her home.

Barret nodded in return. "Now you get to sleep baby. I'm gonna go have a chat with Tifa and Cloud, and I'll be back up here soon, okay?"

"Okay, Papa," she replied, satisfied with his response. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Marlene." Everyone shared their goodnights, Barret patting Denzel on the head and telling him "Nice to finally meet you, buddy," before leaving down the stairs. Tifa gave each of the children a hug and a kiss, and watched fondly as Cloud hugged both kids, pausing before Denzel before taking his leave.

"What do you think?" he whispered, gesturing to the two men downstairs.

"I like them," Denzel replied, smiling.

"I'm glad."

Cloud turned off the light and cracked the door when he left, sure that both kids would fall asleep nearly instantly. He caught Tifa peering over the couch at Cid's sleeping form, slack-jawed and lose-limbed. "Should I wake him?"

"Ah, let 'im sleep," Barret commented from a nearby table. "He probably needs it. Been driving me nuts with all his worrying about Shera and the twins."

"He's probably just scared to be a new dad, Barret," Tifa replied, shaking a folded blanket out and laying it over Cid in a motherly fashion.

The large man chuckled quietly, "It ain't easy. He's right to be scared." He pulled out a chair far away from the table and sat down in it carefully, scratching at his scraggly beard. "You know…I've really been thinking about joining the WRO... With the new green energy initiative, and the Organization reallocating funding for our cause…" Barret sighed wearily. "It just feels so strange. My whole life, I've blazed my own path. Did things my own way. To think that I'd be signing up with some major organization that was built on funding from _Shinra_ …"

"Wait, what?" Cloud interjected.

Barret shook his head. "Where do you think the WRO is getting all this money from, Cloud? Out of Reeve's ass?" The blonde let out a quiet 'hmmph'.

_So that's why Reeve's been working with Rufus…_

"Sometimes I think that I'd really like to settle down," Barret continued. "Hell, I'm getting old, I can feel it in my bones. But at the same time... I know I can't stop fighting. I can't stop until the day I die. Or until the Planet is restored back to the way it's supposed to be. Whichever happens first, I guess." Cloud nodded silently. He understood. Though, in the end, he had fought for the Planet too, he'd never felt as strongly as Barret did about its livelihood. Giving a safe and happy place for his friends and family to live, though - that, he understood.

"I think it's a great idea, Barret," Tifa interjected. "...Reeve asked us if we'd like to join, too," she added. "But... to tell you the truth, I don't know how much fight I have left in me."

Barret shook his head again. "Tifa, you've got plenty of fight left in you. You've got more spunk than any kid I know. You're just fighting for something different now. Aren't you?"

Tifa blinked. "What do you mean?"

"You're fighting for what you believe in. You believe in this." He gestured to the entirety of the bar with his mechanical hand. "You believe in this business you've built. This home. You believe in the kids, in little Marlene and in Denzel. Really, you're doing what I _should_ be doing..." Cloud wondered if Barret was right. Maybe he was more insightful than he had always taken him for. "I'd like to spend more time with Marlene," he said wistfully. "But... I can't stop going out there and fighting. Looking for oil, or any other thing to help make the Planet greener. There might be all kinds of alternative energy sources out there that we haven't even thought about, ya know?" He paused, turning his head away from Cloud and Tifa. "Sometimes I feel like I'm not doing the right thing, though. I mean, I've spent most of my life fighting for the good of the Planet, and for the good of its people, but what does that matter when there's a little girl upstairs who calls me 'Papa', and I'm never around to see her?" He shook his head forlornly. "She's growing up so fast. Too fast. If things keep going the way they are, I won't know anything about her anymore. She talks about things I don't understand. She's getting into fights now... And I'm not there to defend her or teach her how to react." Barret abruptly slammed his large fist on the table, causing it to rattle. "I ain't cut out for this parenting shit. Never have been." With that, he rose from his chair, his hulking form turning to leave - where to, Cloud wasn't sure.

"Barret!" Tifa pleaded. "Don't say things like that!"

Cloud stood up too. "Barret, wait." The giant man obliged, standing in place but facing away from the pair. "I'm no better than you are. Hell, I'm worse. A lot worse." He shook his head, his spiky blonde hair following the trail of his movements. "I don't know how to raise kids. And I'm gone almost as much as you are. Only, I don't have a good excuse. But you, you're doing something you believe in. Something important. And..." Cloud paused, searching for what he wanted to say. "Marlene believes in you, too. That's why she never questions why you're gone. She knows you're doing something important. And she knows that you will always come back to her. With me... she can't ever really be sure." Cloud dropped his head, stuffing his hands in his pockets and walking up to stand beside Barret. "You're the good dad," he stated. "I'm not." Cloud felt ashamed to say it, but he felt it was true.

"Cloud..." He could hear Tifa almost whisper his name, just barely audible to a normal person. The sound rang loudly in his ears, but it was soon replaced by the hearty chuckle coming from the older man standing beside him.

"We're both just a couple of big fuckups, aren't we?" He turned back around, making his way towards the stairs. "Guess we got a lot more in common than we thought."

Cloud and Tifa stood in shocked silence for a moment, watching the gunman leave. "Barret, wait!" Tifa finally called. "What are you doing?"

"What's it look like I'm doing? I'm going to sleep. And I'm going to go give my daughter a hug."

"Goodnight," Tifa called, her voice less urgent. Barret raised his hand in acknowledgement and disappeared beyond the stairwell. The brunette turned and caught Cloud's eyes, her gaze questioning. Cloud shrugged his shoulders.

"You don't… really think that, do you?" she asked, slowly stepping towards him. "How long will it take for you to believe in yourself the way we believe in you?" She reached out, gingerly grazing her fingertips across Cloud's cheek. "The way _I_ believe in you?"

He leaned into her touch, closing his eyes and relishing in it. "As soon as I feel like I've atoned for all the mistakes I've made," he answered honestly.

She frowned, dragging her fingers downward and cupping Cloud's jawline. "What happened to forgiving yourself?" she whispered softly.

"I have… Mostly."

"I wish I could help you."

Cloud placed his hand on top of hers, pulling it down until they were linked together. "Teef, you've done more than enough. More than you realize." Her frown didn't falter, and Cloud gently tugged her towards the stairwell. "Come on, let's get some sleep."

She followed him upstairs, still linked hand-in-hand with him, but broke the contact when they reached her bedroom door. She clasped her hands in front of her, dipping her head down as if she were ashamed. "Goodnight, Cloud," she said quietly, glancing up at him beneath the cover of her hair.

"Goodnight, Tifa," he managed to murmur, ignoring the sinking realization that she wouldn't be sleeping beside him tonight. Once was enough for him to hold onto and think about as he tried to fall asleep. Once was enough for him to cherish for a lifetime. Still, he found that his bed felt cold and empty without her. He wondered if she would come to talk again. Surely she'd at least come to wake him from his painful dreams. He took solace in knowing that.

After some time, he heard it – the soft knock at his door that he had been desperately hoping for. His stomach flipped at the sound, his heart fluttering childishly in his chest. "Come in," he croaked out, his voice threatening to leave him entirely.

"Hey," she spoke softly, shutting the door behind her and padding over to Cloud's bed. He sat up, making room for her to sit beside him.

"Hey, Teef." He watched her silently run her hands over the edge of the bed, feeling her way through the darkness that Cloud could see through clearly. Wordlessly, her hand found its way into Cloud's own, and her head rested delicately against his shoulder as she sat down. Cloud relished in her warm, comfortable touch, stroking her hand with his thumb as their fingers weaved together easily.

_She came back…_

"Cloud…" she whispered, breaking the silence. Her voice was laden with exhaustion, her lips quivering with hesitation. He waited patiently, giving her time to speak, and she finally let out a heavy sigh. "Today's been a good day, hasn't it?"

"Yeah," he agreed simply. "Yeah, it was a good day. A _great_ day… Best day I've had in a long time…"

Though Cloud couldn't really get a look at her face, he knew that she was smiling softly. He could hear it in her voice. "I'm really happy… So happy that everything worked out for once. With Barret and Cid… Everyone had a good time together…"

"That's right," Cloud replied softly. "Just like you wanted."

She nodded her head. "Just like I wanted…" Her voice sounded faraway – wistful, even – and she resumed her silence. Cloud decided that he was fine with that, sitting in silence with her as she wrapped her arm around his bicep and held herself there loosely.

"Cloud… You know I try my best, right?"

"Of course I do," he replied gently.

"It's just that I haven't had a day like this in what feels like years… And, well, usually, everything feels so hard. But today… Things felt so easy… When I'm with everyone… With the kids and with Barret and the rest of our friends… When I'm with you…" She inhaled sharply, and Cloud drank in every word she spoke. "…Everything doesn't seem so hard anymore… And I can't help but wonder…" She turned her face and looked up at him, her eyes searching his own. "Do you ever think things could stay this way?"

"I really hope so," he admitted. "I haven't felt this happy in so long…"

"…Me too."

She slowly unwrapped herself from Cloud's arm, rolling her neck and stretching her back muscles just like she had the night before. All the stress must have really been getting to her.

"Your neck hurts?" he asked, watching her motions curiously. It was more of a statement than a question.

"A little," she admitted. "My shoulders, neck... Top of my back, too. I think I might have hurt myself a little bit during that fight with the behemoth..." She shook her head. "It's not a big deal. I've dealt with worse pain. Besides, I've decided that I'm going to start training again. That'll help a lot." She smiled up at him, and they shared another moment of comfortable silence together. Cloud eventually spoke again, remembering the conversation he had had with Denzel that morning.

"Denzel… He asked me to train him how to fight... Show him how to defend himself…"

"He's growing up so fast," Tifa replied quietly.

Cloud nodded. "The kid's been through a lot."

"We all have," she murmured. Cloud cocked his head slightly to the side upon seeing Tifa unthinkingly reach up and rub at her neck. She really looked like she was hurting, or at least, she was very uncomfortable.

"Teef…"

"Hm?"

Silently, he moved behind her, his knees pressing gently into the worn mattress. Without a word, Cloud gingerly gathered the silky, brunette hair that fell all over her back, brushing his fingers lightly across the skin on her neck, and pulled it all to one side across her shoulder. Gently. Lovingly. She shivered at his touch, and Cloud felt the familiar flutter in his stomach.

"Teef…" He placed his hands lightly on her shoulders. His mind begged the question, _"Would this be okay?"_ He asked in the form of a gentle squeeze, and quiet, shy words that were forced, but genuine.

"…Let me help." He blushed, fearing her reply, but Tifa responded with a quiet sigh and the slightest relaxation of her shoulders. Wordlessly, she gave Cloud permission to touch her.

So he did. Innocently, gently, slowly, he pressed his thumbs into the sore, powerful muscles that lied beneath Tifa's thin, cotton shirt. Gently, so gently at first, because he didn't want to hurt her, and because he was terrified that Tifa might pull herself away from him at any moment. But she didn't. She never did, no matter how many times Cloud worried that she would. She tilted her head down and leaned back slightly, allowing Cloud better access to her tense neck muscles that felt like little knots beneath her skin. He frowned; she was so tense that it really was causing her physical pain. Feeling that all-too-familiar burn blaze stronger though his cheeks, he pressed a little harder into her shoulders, now freely allowing his fingers to move and letting his thumbs work coaxing circles into the thick muscle tissue. Tifa sighed again, infinitesimally louder this time, and gave in to Cloud's touch, her shoulders fully slumping and relaxing beneath his warm hands.

"Let me know if I'm being too rough," he murmured, his voice lower than he had anticipated.

"No," she breathed. "It feels good."

Something in the way her voice sounded, the way she sighed and the way she leaned back into Cloud's touch set him off. He blushed even harder as he worked his way down her shoulder blades, pressing hard into the tense tissue. She melted under his touch, and a more primitive part of him realized that he could splay his open hands over her entire back, and she would probably allow it. He stopped, though, when he reached her lower back, letting go just before her hips.

"Feeling better?" he asked, he voice tinged with a huskiness that surprised him, and almost made him feel self-conscious.

"Yeah…" her voice was small and shy, but she did seem more relaxed. Cloud slowly wrapped his arms around her, resting his head atop her shoulder. He felt like he might have been pushing his boundaries again, but he didn't want to stop. He wanted to touch her. To hold her. He wanted to feel her breath rise and fall in her chest, feel her turn to putty beneath his touch. He wanted to love her.

Her hands found the top of his, and they stayed that way for a while. "Thank you," she finally said. Something was off, though. She didn't sound the way she had only moments before.

"…I should get back to bed," she whispered, a tinge of sadness tainting her voice.

The blonde gulped, intensely aware of how dry his throat felt. "Okay."

 _Stay,_ he wanted to say as he unwrapped himself from her form. _I need you here,_ he thought as she stood up and made her way towards the door. _I want to hold_ _you a little while longer._

She paused in the doorway, her figure illuminated by the dim hallway nightlight, as she whispered 'goodnight' to Cloud, and he said it back, never working up the nerve to say what he really wanted to.

_I love you…_

Just when he thought they might be breaking walls down together.

**•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

" _Cloud…"_

" _Cloud…"_

" _Cloud!"_

" _Cloud, look!"_

 _They_ were speaking to him. Or perhaps, he was speaking to himself. Was he? The muddled mixture of voices echoed and bounced in his head until they finally converged into one, clear sound.

" _Right here, look… Look, Cloud…"_

His vision was coming to him, and was slowly being filled up by the familiar image of Tifa's bedroom window. It had only been days since he had watched her through the dusty pane of glass… Or had it been years? He wasn't sure.

" _She's so pretty,"_ the voice commented. _"You really like her a lot, don't you?"_

He nodded his head silently.

" _Now look: there you go chasing after her. It took you a long time to work up the courage, but there you are. See? Just far enough away where she might not see you if you hide carefully."_

 _But I'm not sure if I want her to see me or not,_ he mused.

" _Cloud!"_

This voice was completely different, and it was coming from a pretty young girl in a blue dress.

" _Stop trying to hide! I can see you!"_

She walked up to him and he stepped out from behind the boulder, ashamed.

" _Why did you follow me here? You know I'm not going to stop, right?"_

"… _I know,"_ he replied. _"It's too dangerous to go alone, though. Let me tag along."_

" _Fine,"_ she snapped coldly. It wasn't like her…

" _She's hurting right now, Cloud,"_ the other voice replied. " _You can't blame her."_

 _They all blamed_ you _, though, didn't they?_

_Besides, it's not like you really knew her then, anyway._

" _Cloud, look. The sun is setting."_

He turned, and there she was, much older now. Set against the blazing evening sky, she looked like the earth was painted just for her to stand on.

" _Stunning,"_ the voice commented, adoration flowing through her words. _"But I'm not supposed to be here, am I?"_

Cloud shook his head, 'no'.

" _I understand."_

Her kisses were sweet and heady, and her touch was torturously decadent.

" _Maybe this is a bad idea," he heard his own voice like a distant call._

" _No."_

" _The airship, at least. Let's go back-"_

" _No."_

She shut him up with lips that whispered nothing of the sins they had committed, but offered sanctity in the pure desire that held him captive under her touch.

" _Tifa-"_

" _Don't tell me you don't want me, Cloud. Because if you tell me that you don't want this… I might break."_

" _No…"_ He shook his head. The desperation in her voice was too much for him to handle. _"No, no, no, no, no. You have_ no _idea how badly I want this…"_

" _Right now, then,"_ she reassured him. _"Right here, Cloud. We've run out of time… This is our chance… This is our moment…"_

He kissed her deeply, passionately, urgently.

" _I don't need anything else…"_ she breathed. _"I don't need words… I don't need comfort… All I need is you."_

He loved her and she loved him in return, until the hours passed and their time truly had come close to running out. Daybreak was approaching too quickly. Far too quickly.

Their moment was over. Cloud was standing in the church, which was crumbling to pieces before his very eyes. The dilapidated building could have fallen at any moment.

" _Ah, you're not looking at it the right way,"_ a chipper, masculine voice commented. _"See, you've got your perspective all wrong. You keep looking at all the bad stuff. And… Well, yeah. It's pretty bad."_

The two pairs of Mako-blue eyes met, one set serious in its expression, the other holding a sense of amusement.

" _Look a little closer, Cloud. You can say you've moved on all you want, and maybe you really have. But your perspective is still stuck. You're not looking at the flowers."_

"… _Flowers?"_

They burst into bloom around him, a veritable garden of Eden that snaked its way through the debris and threatened to swallow it up whole.

A mousy brunette sauntered up beside him, her pink ribbon bouncing lightly with each step.

" _It's hard to say everything that needs to be said like this," her feminine voice commented. "And I thought we had already worked everything out in the past… Turns out, there's still a long road to go. But you know, Cloud, there's someone who wants to help you."_

" _Help me with what?"_

" _Everything. Of course, I do still feel a little jealous sometimes… But in the end, I can see how much you really love each other. I already told her that she knows what she needs to do. And I think you know what you need to do, too."_

" _I- What are you talking about?"_

" _Things are going to get a little hard, okay? But it's nothing you can't handle. Especially if you work together."_

" _I don't understand!"_

" _What is there to understand?"_ She stepped away from him, her body glowing and breaking off into tiny shards of crystal. _"You don't need me here anymore, silly. I'll be waiting for both of you, when the time comes."_

" _Wait!"_

She burst and shattered into a million pieces, and they clattered on the ground musically. He was standing atop hard dirt now.

" _I wouldn't mind sticking around for a while."_

Familiar comfort radiated from his form. The delicate scent of flowers masked by wild musk and earthy metal. A sly smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.

"… _Zack?"_

" _Yup, the one and only."_ He stretched his arms up and sighed. _"Hey, how long are you gonna be scared of that guy?"_

" _What guy?"_

" _Sephiroth. Deepground. Trent. What's it matter? They're really all the same thing, if you think about it."_ He turned, cocking his head to the side. _"Which is scarier: fighting all of them, or telling Tifa how you feel?"_

"… _You're messing with me."_

" _No, I'm not. Honest question."_

"… _She already knows how I feel."_

" _You really think so? Sure, she went inside your mind in the Lifestream, but is that really enough? Man, you_ are _dense."_ He shook his head. _"Guess I know which is scarier, though."_

Cloud frowned. _"Zack…"_

" _Look, I wish I could be around to give you a pep talk whenever you need one, but I can't… Ya know?"_

The black-haired man scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, and Cloud mirrored him perfectly.

" _So, uh… All you gotta do is tell her, ya know? It doesn't matter what you told her in the past… Or what she saw in you… It's time to tell her now."_

" _Za-"_

" _And as far as everything else goes…"_ He pounded his chest. _"You've got the heart of a warrior. The courage of a hero. Nothing can stop you, as long as you don't let it."_

He patted Cloud heavily on the shoulder.

" _Sorry, but I gotta go. You've got this."_

" _Zack, wait!"_

In a brilliant flash of light, he was gone. In his place, was emptiness. Cloud was surrounded by darkness, but he knew he wasn't alone. His senses alight, he felt his blood run cold as dark figures began to surround him.

" _So many games…"_ A darker voice was laced with laughter that dripped like venom down a serpent's maw. _"I grow tired of your games, Cloud. They're becoming less fun and more irritating by the second."_

The audiovisual assault began, and Cloud's senses were blinded as the familiar pain began to wrack his body. _'Show yourself!'_ he might have yelled, but he didn't know. He didn't know anything. He couldn't see, he couldn't hear, he couldn't feel. His arms, they were slicing at the air wildly, searching for his target but finding nothing.

Out of the sea of white light and deafness, he could faintly heara young boy's voice calling his name.

" _Oh, look, the child is here again,"_ the serpent's voice replied, clear as day, though Cloud's senses were still on fire _. "Shall I kill him this time? Or should I have you do it?"_

" _NO!"_

" _Cloud!"_ The youthful voice was more urgent now, begging him to listen.

" _If I train you well enough, maybe you'll finally listen."_

" _Cloud!"_

" _He's right there, Cloud. All you have to do is kill him."_

" _CLOUD!"_

" _Come on, just one cut will do the trick. Right through the boy's chest."_

" _NO!"_ he wailed, over and over. _"NO! NO! NOOOOO!-"_

**•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

He awoke in a frenzy, eyes darting everywhere and lungs breathing heavily. He was clutching onto the sheets, because there was nothing else for him to grab on to. After a delayed moment, his vision finally returned to him, and he was surprised to see Denzel standing before him, rather than Tifa. She was nowhere to be seen.

"Are you okay?" the boy whispered, concern apparent in his hushed voice.

"Yeah, Denzel… I'm okay," Cloud breathed out, regaining his composure. He'd had worse nights, though this nightmare had come on strong and quick. "Did I wake you up?"

"No," Denzel replied, shaking his head. "Barret's snoring woke me up." The sound drifted into Cloud's mind, then, and he realized that Barret was, indeed, snoring very loudly. "I came in here and saw you were having your nightmares again."

Cloud sighed, scooting over in the bed and making room for the boy. "Well, thank you for waking me up. Here, come lay down."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, come on."

Denzel followed his order and made himself comfortable on Cloud's pillow. The kid was obviously exhausted, because it didn't take long for him to fall back asleep. Cloud relaxed his arm around Denzel's torso, taking comfort in the innocent closeness. This was nice, at least. It bothered him that Tifa hadn't come, though. The more he ruminated on it, the more upset he became. He had messed up somehow. He had messed up bad.

He sighed, feeling Denzel adjust himself restlessly under his arm. Cloud wondered what sort of nightmares he had. He frowned, knowing that they were far worse than simple nightmares about monsters. He wondered if he dreamed of death, of loneliness. Of all the things Cloud wished he could protect him from.

Sleep wasn't going to come. He knew it wasn't, and he laid there for what felt like hours. A muffled noise eventually caught his attention – Marlene getting up for a glass of water, maybe? But no, within seconds, his door was gently being pushed open. Tifa tried her best to keep the door from creaking, and tiptoed over to the bed, smiling down at the image of Cloud and Denzel.

"Teef-" he whispered. She put her finger to her lips in a 'hush' gesture, and walked around to the far side of the bed, pulling the blanket back and settling herself down beside Cloud. He said nothing more, too paralyzed to do so. She made herself comfortable as best she could, snaking her arm over Cloud's shoulder and resting it there.

"I couldn't sleep," she whispered. "Guess I'm not the only one."

Cloud nodded, head still resting on half of his pillow. She didn't have a pillow of her own, but she didn't seem to care. Carefully, he sat up, taking Tifa's hand into his own and finding her gaze.

"I'm glad you came," he admitted, soaking in the wave of relief that washed over him by simply being in her presence. "Switch spots with me."

She didn't object, and followed Cloud's orders, gingerly scooting next to Denzel and resting her head on Cloud's pillow. _There, at least she'll be more comfortable now,_ he thought. He turned away from her, feeling like touching her would be too much, now, but she grabbed his hand and pulled it around her waist, pulling the rest of his body towards her as well. It didn't take long for Cloud to give in, and he cuddled up close to her, pressing much of his body against her own. She didn't seem to mind in the slightest.

"'Night, Teef," Cloud whispered, a small smile forming on his lips. Her almost inaudible, sweet 'goodnight' echoed in his mind and lullabied him back to sleep. He felt invincible. She had come back. She had come back and let him hold her as he slept. And Denzel was there, too, making him feel strong, making him feel protective. Nothing could touch him in his dreams as long as he had his little family by his side.

If only he could say the same about the waking world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello guys! So I'm pretty new here to AO3, but I've been posting on fanfiction . net for quite a while now. I first began this fic in December of 2015, and it's still in progress as of June 2017! I am not an accomplished fiction writer by any means and when I first posted the prologue to this story, I was very nervous. Now, however, I am becoming more comfortable in my writing, though I still struggle with issues such as pacing, characterization, and even plot points. With that being said, I am always open to (gentle!) constructive criticism! I work really hard on writing my fanfiction, so I take pride in it, but I want to do everything I can to improve on my work! I know it's not perfect, but I hope you guys have enjoyed so far. It may take quite some time (months) for me to complete the next chapter of this fic, but please know that I will be working hard on it and you will be able to enjoy it, hopefully sooner rather than later. I am a slow writer, and life gets in the way, but I will finish this fic. It is my baby. Lol. 
> 
> You can follow me over at fanfiction . net under the same username, SummonerStrife! I will be posting all of my work on both websites from this point forward :-)
> 
> Until next time, guys! Thanks for reading! <3


	8. Honesty

**BEGINNING AUTHOR'S NOTE: Holy crap guys, I'm alive and here's a HUGE chapter after a year's hiatus. Yes, it's huge. Over 32k words. THIS IS NOT THE FINAL CHAPTER. However! If you've been here from the beginning for the Cloud x Tifa shipping, then this chapter should nicely wrap up that aspect of the story. This is an IMPORTANT SHIPPING CHAPTER 3 Like, -the- most important one lol. There is a LOT going on in this chapter! Scenes on scenes on scenes of all kinds of different stuff happening! I hope this helps to make up for the** **ridiculously long wait, and I do sincerely apologize for taking so long!** **l If you're ready for this, and okay with knowing the story isn't -quite- done (we're very close!), then strap in, cause this is gonna be one hell of a ride! THANK YOU AGAIN for your views/follows/favorites/reviews! YOU GUYS ARE WHY I'M STILL DEDICATED TO FINISHING THIS STORY, AFTER ALMOST THREE YEARS OF WRITING! 3 Please see the ending author's note at the bottom, as well :-) Alright, guys. Let's do this! - SummonerStrife**

**•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

Tifa was drifting. Floating. Swimming, perhaps... But she certainly wasn't on solid ground. The black, watery essence surrounding her was simultaneously comforting and incredibly terrifying.  _Am I dead?_ she wondered. There was nothing here. No sights. No scents. The only sound that emerged from the darkness was the increasingly loud ringing in her ears. It sounded like a million yelling voices inside of her mind.

_I'm definitely dead._

She awoke someplace familiar.  _The Sector 7 train station,_  she realized. She wasn't sure why she was there, or where she was even going. Maybe she had just been passing through to get to another sector. Maybe she had intentions to board the train. She looked over her shoulder at the empty space behind her, feeling cold from the loneliness of the barren, soulless place. Or, maybe she was just literally cold. It was unusual; she hadn't felt much for quite some time. It was easier to suppress and ignore the painful emotions that always tried to bubble up when they were least needed. It was easier to fake happiness that way. Her team needed her perpetual optimism to keep their morale high.

Tifa noticed that she wasn't entirely alone, after all. A single train worker seemed to be kneeling down, tending to someone. She walked closer, wondering if she could help, and then she stopped in her tracks. For the first time in a long time, her heart jumped in her chest at the sight that was laid before her.

_It can't be…_

Blonde hair, a bit shorter and spikier than she remembered, but undoubtedly  _his._ Different clothes… Were they?... Yes, a SOLDIER's uniform. A giant sword lying on the ground near him. She called his name uncertainly, but he didn't respond. Why was he kneeling on the ground? Clutching at his head? Was he okay? She walked closer, completely ignoring the train attendant, and realized that he was incoherently mumbling to himself. He raked his hands through his hair, shaking his head as if he were arguing with himself.

"Cloud?" she called again, reaching out tentatively and touching his shoulder.

The scene disappeared and she wasn't at the station anymore. This place was familiar too, though it was decidedly less lonely – yes, much less lonely, because Tifa was surrounded by her ragtag group of comrades in a small, cozy inn. In place of that lonesome feeling, a certain sense of unease seeped into Tifa's mind as she listened to Cloud recount the story of his past. It didn't add up, but she kept her mouth closed and her expression as neutral as she could. The temptation to  _say_ something had been building stronger and stronger, but what good would that do? Maybe he was lying for a reason. Or maybe…  _Maybe…_  He really believed in what he was saying…

She wasn't going crazy, was she?

Everything was suddenly very quiet, and her vision had melted and returned a scene that struck her heart like a sledgehammer and cracked deep fractures into it. The hospital she seemed to be in was so small, it almost shouldn't have even been called such a thing. And just there, right before her eyes,  _he_  sat, immobilized. Only,  _he_  wasn't there. The physical body of Cloud Strife was sitting in the wheelchair before her, but his mind had left that body. What remained was an empty shell of a man. Tifa was overcome with a hurricane of emotion, and the tears came down fast and hard. She reached out and caressed his almost unfamiliar face, stroking her hand down the cheek she had never had the chance to touch before. "I know you're in there," she whispered. She was desperate to believe in those words, and she'd give anything for them to be true. Something deep and dark told her that that wasn't possible, though. It was over for him… She shook her head, stubborn and uncaring about any 'truths' her mind might be trying to tell her. She wasn't going to give up on him. She wasn't going to  _ever_ give up on him, even if everyone else would. She grabbed a handkerchief off the nearby table and, with great care, wiped away the drool that was dripping down his chin.

She had only closed her eyes for a moment before time jumped again. Or, perhaps, time hadn't jumped, but her location had definitely changed. Cloud was sitting there on Denzel's bed, as real and as present as ever. She furrowed her brows as a devastating realization hit her. "You have Geostigma… Don't you?" she questioned. His stoic face was enough of an answer for her. An unvoiced confirmation. She put the pieces together instantly, realizing that  _that's_ why he had left,  _that's_ why he had made no effort to speak to her, and  _that's_ why he had regressed so hard from how far he had come. "You're just gonna give up and die," she stated plainly. "Is that it?" She should have realized it before. Maybe, somewhere deep down, she had known all along. Cloud was strong – very, very strong – but he had a penchant for getting sick. And when he got sick, he had a tendency to run away. Like a wounded animal. And after  _everything_  they had been through together… After Cloud said something weak-minded, Tifa shook her head, muttering a silly phrase that her dad had taught her many years ago:  _'dilly dally, shilly shally'_. It meant something along the lines of 'oh well' or 'it can't be helped'. It meant that giving up wasn't ever an option, but looking in the face of your adversity was all you could do. She had walked through the fires of pain and strife many times in her life, and she had pulled Cloud back from the effects of illness before. She was  _not_  going to let him give up on himself this time.

The scene fell away like raindrops rushing down from the heavens, and with it, her frustrations washed away, too. She was standing someplace else, and Cloud was looking at her. Not through her, not past her, but truly  _looking_  right into her eyes. It felt like it was the first time in forever. There were children surrounding him in a healing well of holy water, and they danced and played as the rain came down and washed away the illness that the Lifestream had stricken them with. Something seemed different; nostalgic, even, as his eyes softened and a small smile spread across his face. A smile she hadn't seen in so damn long. She could look into those smiling eyes of his for the rest of her days, she realized. She could look into those eyes forever.

• **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

Tifa slowly woke up from her fragmented dreams to a welcomed sense of weight against her body. She was surrounded by warmth and love that she hadn't truly felt in ages. To one side of her, her unofficially adopted son lay curled up like a snoozing cat, hopefully full of dreams and wonder that only little boys could imagine. To her other side,  _he_ lied there, seemingly released from his tortuous nightmares, for now. In the room across the hall, her daughter slept soundly with her Papa, certainly tranquil for the first time in a while. Downstairs, her friend slumbered deeply, perhaps dreaming visions of having children of his own. Maybe, just this once, at this one, quiet moment in the very early morning, they were all at peace, all full of soft dreams and comfort, without fear or anger in their hearts.

She felt him shift slightly behind her, pulling her body ever closer to his. He wasn't awake; she was sure of it, so the action must have been subconscious. It felt like he never wanted to let her go. Like he wanted her to be as close to him as possible. She sighed softly, letting her back mold to his torso and relishing in the feeling of being cuddled close. This was something she wasn't used to. No longer were the mornings cold and lonely. No longer was she tortured by visions of the past and stresses of the future. Not for the past few days. Not right now.

When had she started loving him? It certainly couldn't have been when they were kids, could it? No, that was impossible… She had hardly even taken notice of him back then. It wasn't until the years passed by, long and dreary, and she looked for his name in the newspapers, but found no word of the blonde-haired boy who had unknowingly made an impact on her life. He had made her so many promises, and somehow, he had kept every one of them. Even if he might have thought they were broken, she knew otherwise. Memories played like old movie reels in her mind of every time he had come to save her. So many times, he had come. He saved everyone, in the end. He was such a hero, and he never even seemed to realize it.

He had his faults, though. But hell, Tifa was just as flawed as he was. For every time he wanted to give up, Tifa had felt just the same. She wasn't sure what kept her going. All she knew, was that as long as she was by his side, she wasn't afraid to take on her problems. Sure, she worried, every day and every night, but  _he_ always managed to quell her fears just with the touch of his hand or the gentle, reassuring nature of his voice. She sighed softly again, frowning at the sad little thought that entered her mind: Cloud  _was_ asleep. It didn't mean much if he pulled her close now, when in reality, she was never really sure why he touched her in the first place.

She was surprised to feel herself ruminating on those thoughts now, of all times, just when she had felt peace only moments before. She wondered if she was taking things the wrong way. But how could she be? How could she interpret his actions in any other way? It felt wrong, so  _wrong_  to love him. To wretch him away from Aerith, when she had never truly cared for him before. Admittedly, though, she had thought about him for years, never forgetting the promise he had made that night… Maybe she had built him up too much in her mind. Placed him on a pedestal. Made him out to be some romantic knight in shining armor, ready to come save her whenever she was in distress. But her knight was broken, his armor built stronger around his heart than on his body. She never thought she'd have to be the one to save  _him._

And time and time again, she did save him. Maybe she hadn't realized it before, but she had pulled him from the brink of death in her own ways. Cloud was a sick individual, with a strong body and a fragile mind. Really, who was taking advantage of whom? Still… She couldn't help but enjoy this feeling. Such contentment wasn't something she had often, and she soaked it up, the little guilty feelings tugging at her despite her efforts to ignore them. She was here now, and Cloud was here, and her family and her friends were here, and she was wrapped up tight by the man she loved, the man she vowed to save as many times as he'd ever need. Just this moment… Just this one, important, tender moment… It was hers.

They stayed that way for a while, and Tifa drifted in and out of gentle slumber as the minutes ticked by. She instinctually felt her daily wake-up time approaching, far before the sun could cast its light over the dim colors of the room, and she wondered vaguely if she could ignore that as well and stay just where she was for the rest of her days.

It couldn't be ignored, though. Cloud stirred as Tifa's alarm began to blare in the other room. She was sure that everyone else would sleep through it, as she could barely hear it herself, but she also knew that Cloud's sensitive sense of hearing amplified everything around him.

"…Mornin', Teef," he whispered. "Stay here." He slid out of bed, disappearing through the doorway, and a moment later, the alarm went silent. Cloud slipped back in, walking quietly and making brief eye contact with Tifa before crawling back into bed. "Too early," he mumbled, burrowing his face in Tifa's hair and saying nothing else.

The brunette shifted away from Denzel and rolled to face Cloud, trying her best not to disturb the little boy from his slumber. She cuddled close against his chest, soaking in the blissful sensation of feeling his fingers trace patterns into her back. She pushed the little nagging thoughts further to the back of her mind, until they were almost completely out of reach. None of that mattered when she had these little moments with him. None of that mattered at all.

"Is this a dream?" she eventually heard him murmur.

"A dream?"

"My sleep is filled with terror and rage… How can I dream of something so wonderful?"

Tifa blushed, and Cloud's hand slipped up into her hair, gently rubbing at the nape of her neck as he rested his chin atop the crown of her head. "It's not a dream," she assured him, her voice still soft and tired. "This is real..."

"But it all seems too good to be true…"

"Is it?" Tifa questioned.

Cloud didn't respond, opting to lazily stroke Tifa's hair until they both fell back asleep.

• **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

"Wake up, lovebirds," a gruff voice echoed through the hallway. Tifa's eyes snapped open, and she was surprised to see that the sun was clearly shining, Denzel was gone, and there were quiet sounds coming from downstairs.

"Everyone's up," Cloud's voice came from somewhere behind her, his tone tinged lightly with disappointment. His arm was still wrapped loosely around her torso, and he hugged Tifa tighter before sitting up and sighing. "Guess we should get up, too." Tifa sat up and looked at him, feeling slightly embarrassed under his gaze. His eyes looked less sunken in this morning, and his lips were quirked up ever-so-slightly in amusement. Tifa tucked her mildly disheveled hair behind her ears shyly, taking one final, long look into Cloud's eyes before realizing, with a slight panic, that she had slept in far too late  _again._

"I'm sorry, I gotta hurry and get ready!" she apologized, rushing to grab clean clothes from her room and leaving her little time to ruminate on what that sly little smirk of Cloud's meant. She showered quickly and efficiently, and was back down in the bar in fifteen minutes' time. Cloud had opted to take her place in the bathroom once she had finished, but everyone else was already downstairs and sitting down for breakfast.

"Well good morning, sleepy head," Barret greeted with a slight chuckle. "Marlene and Denzel treated us to breakfast this morning."

"Again?" she asked, surprised.

"Again!" Marlene replied with a smile. "It's not 'Be Extra Good" day or anything… Just 'Be Regular Good' day."

Tifa chuckled lightly, along with Barret, and gave the little girl a kiss on the cheek as she sat down at the table beside Denzel.

"You feeling okay, Denzel?" she asked.

He nodded and smiled. "A lot better."

"I'm glad to hear that." She gave the boy a quick kiss on the crown of his head and helped Marlene pour drinks for everyone. She made Cloud a plate, too.

Cid was having a rougher time waking up than anyone else, and he wandered in from the living room area groggily. "Coffee…" he mumbled, making his way outside for a morning smoke.

Cloud came downstairs not too long after everyone had begun to eat, smelling of fresh soap and sporting adorably messy hair. Tifa blushed, opting not to say anything and shoving a bite of eggs into her mouth instead.

Their conversational and decidedly normalmorning was enough to keep Tifa's mind from wandering to places it shouldn't go; however, she did become quite curious about the fact that Barret had asked Cloud to speak with him in the kitchen after finishing his breakfast. Once Cloud had popped his head out of the doorway and asked Cid to join them, Tifa couldn't help but ask what they were doing.

"Don't worry about it!" Cid huffed from the other room.

"You three can't just have some secret meeting without me and Marlene and Denzel!" she replied.  _Or at least without me,_ she corrected herself. She was beginning to worry.

"Fine, fine!" Cid yelled, coming out of the kitchen with his hands stuffed in his pockets. "Go talk to them," he said, motioning back towards the kitchen after Tifa gave him a pointed look.

Tifa took note of the kids' confused expressions as they finished up their meal and Cid went out for his after-breakfast smoke. "What's the big idea, guys?" she asked, watching Barret and Cloud clean their dishes side-by-side upon entering the kitchen.

_Now that's an interesting sight._

"It's no cause for concern," Cloud said casually.

Tifa placed her hands on her hips, harkening back to a slightly younger, slightly sassier version of herself. "You three have a secret meeting in the kitchen, refuse to let me in on the conversation, and now you're working together, side-by-side, without bickering? Something's up, and I say you're both in cahoots." She smiled, satisfied with the looks on both of their faces.

"Actually, Cloud wanted to ask you something," Barret grunted, rinsing off his now-clean dishes. Tifa cocked her head.

"Well…" Cloud shrugged, scratching at the back of his neck. "…Cid has to fly home, but… We  _both_ thought it would fun to take the kids to the Gold Saucer today." He jerked his head in Barret's direction. "Mostly his idea, but since I'm not making deliveries today…"

Tifa dropped her hands from her hips and laughed quietly. " _That's_ what your secret meeting was about?" She shook her head. "I forgot how silly you guys can be when you get together." Tifa giggled again when the two men simply grunted in response. Her smile fell from her face, though, almost as quickly as it had come. "I can't shut down the bar, though. It's not Sunday, the kids have school, and I'll have to shut down early for the party we're going to have…"

"Told you," Barret murmured, quietly laughing at Cloud. He patted the blonde man on the shoulder and left the kitchen, ignoring Tifa's quiet sound of indignation.

"It was really Barret's idea?" Tifa asked, once they were left alone.

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, but he asked me to convince you. And then we asked Cid if he would take us there and let us borrow the truck."

Tifa bit her lip, looking around to make sure that Denzel and Marlene's curious ears weren't listening. "Convince me, then."

"What?"

"Convince me." She held her hands behind her back, feeling a bit embarrassed and ashamed. Of course it would be irresponsible to shirk her responsibilities for the day, and especially to let the kids skip school, seeing as how they had  _just_ gotten into trouble for fighting. But, then again… When was the last time she had the chance to spend time with all of them like this? When was the last time Barret and Marlene had gotten to spend quality time together? When was the last time she and Cloud had gone some place together without it ending in some sort of brawl?

Cloud looked taken aback and perhaps, embarrassed, for just a moment's time, before something in him seemed to shift. He had that slight smirk on his face again, and something about it made Tifa's stomach fill with butterflies. He seemed so…  _Confident_ this morning.

"The kids would love it," Cloud stated, starting with the most logical answer. "All of us would love it, actually. Think of it like a mini-vacation. Which you deserve," he added, knowing that Tifa would interject that she didn't need to take any sort of time away from work. Idly, her mind wandered to the three tickets that were still stuffed in her apron pocket. "Those are good enough reasons, but I have more."

"Alright, I still don't feel fully convinced, then," she retorted, forgetting all about the strange gift that Trent had given her.

"Funnel cake," Cloud stated with a laughably serious expression. "That someone else cooks for you, for once."

"I don't mind cooking," Tifa said, a sly smile forming on her face now. "Got anything else?"

Cloud stepped closer, lowering his voice and looking a little too-serious. "You owe me a race."

Tifa's heart skipped a beat. "A race?"

The blonde nodded. "Remember, we said we would race each other last time we were there, but we never got the chance to. You said you owed me one – said you'd let me pick the best chocobo and you'd still beat me. I want my race." He crossed his arms, looking at her pointedly.

Although their conversation was a bit silly, it made Tifa feel excited in ways that she didn't fully understand. This was nothing important; it wasn't serious, it wasn't sad and it wasn't sweet, like Tifa was used to. No, this was something different. Something strong and flirtatious and unsettlingly sexy in the way that he was talking to her. Teasing her.  _Messing_  with her. It was too early in the morning for her brain to fully process it.

"Oh,  _fine_ ," she relented, feeling her cheeks turn red. "I can't believe you convinced me over a chocobo race…"

"Chocobo races are very important, Tifa."

She gave him a look that said 'shut up', but Cloud chuckled quietly. "I'm just kidding," he assured her, his expression falling back into the gentle way he usually looked at her – the way Tifa had become accustomed to and just the way she liked. "You're sure you're okay with this? We don't have to…"

"No, Cloud, it's a great idea," she replied, smiling. "I was just kidding, too. I'm excited! It won't hurt all of us to get out of the bar together for one day..."

"That's what I was thinking, too."

"I'll go call the school and let them know that Marlene and Denzel will need to make up today's work."

"I guess I'll tell them what's happening."

Cloud led Tifa out of the room, leaving her with a shy smile on her face. Marlene and Denzel were still in the bar area, looking more confused than concerned, but once they were told the news, their faces beamed with excitement. Even Barret was full of smiles and laughter this morning, and Cid seemed to be happy as well.

Things almost seemed a little too good to be true. This Cloud – this happy, smiling, joking, teasing Cloud – felt like an old friend that Tifa hadn't seen in years. Her stomach trembled nervously, excitement bubbling up from her chest and exuding from her smile. Things were changing, and hopefully for the better.

"Well, let's get this show on the road, people!" the pilot eventually shouted. "We ain't got all day!"

After some rushed packing and a quick change of clothes, Tifa and everyone else were ready to go. The ride in the truck was a bit cramped, but Tifa didn't mind. She decided that maybe, just for now, it was okay to feel acutely aware of how closely Cloud's thigh was pressed against hers. Of course, Marlene's bony elbow was in her side as well, but that was okay, too.

• **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

The  _Shera_ wasn't landed too far away from the bar. Once the countryside on the outskirts of Edge appeared, you could see her in the distance. She was a beautiful airship, strong and proud, and crafted with the essence of the lost  _Highwind_ in mind. Marlene and Denzel were enthralled, and all of the adults had to rein them in before they took off and got lost exploring the whole ship. Marlene wanted to ask the crewmen on board all sorts of questions, too, but Tifa asked her to leave the men alone to work. They didn't seem to mind their company.

"You really fly this thing?" Denzel asked Cid as they all entered the cockpit.

"Yep, I'm the best pilot who ever lived!" the older man boasted. Denzel looked at him in awe, his sense of wonder alight.

Everyone was eventually situated and belted into their seats, and after a few moments of whirring and humming motors, the ship was quickly rising off of the ground. "Here we go!" Cid yelled, pulling the  _Shera_  into the air. The force pushed everyone back in their seats for a few moments, but before long, it was over, and they were quickly and expertly stabilized as the craft continued to soar skyward. Marlene and Denzel both unbuckled their restraints and made to stand up.

"Sit down and put your seatbelts back on!" Tifa ordered the children.

"Ah, let 'em run around!" Cid commented. "I know what I'm doin'; this ship ain't goin' down any time soon."

Tifa made a sound of disapproval, but gave in after looking at the excited expressions on the kids' faces. "Go ahead," she shrugged in defeat. Marlene and Denzel bounded up to the front of the cockpit, leaning over the control station and peering out the window eagerly.

"Hey! Watch the buttons, though!" Cid barked.

"Yes sir!" the kids responded in unison, pulling their hands away from the many levers and electronic controls.

Cloud walked up close to the front as well, watching Cid curiously.

"This ship operates a little differently than the old one…" Cid commented quietly. "Not sure which one I prefer to fly, honestly. But look. You see what I'm doin' here?" Cloud nodded. "Gotta keep a steady speed on the takeoff, and make sure you keep her stabilized with the rudder pedals. Otherwise, she'll go off-balance."

Cloud nodded again, stuffing his hands in his pockets and silently taking lessons from the older man. Tifa looked over to Barret, who had made his way to the far corner of the ship and was distantly looking out the corner of the window. She walked over to him, holding her hands behind her back and peering out the window as well.

"I've done searched most of this planet for oil," he said, more to himself than to her. "It just ain't enough for the power that this world needs, even with the huge oilfield that we found. Not if we want to keep things the way they are now. Oil ain't cheap, either. And it's no good for the Planet… Almost as bad as Mako."

Tifa frowned, bouncing on her heels. "There must be  _something_ else we can use."

Barret grunted in response. "Coal's no good either. No good at all. They talk about wind and solar energy, but I've yet to see that work out very well."

Tifa cocked her head. "Well, how much of a chance have we really given it?"

"Not much of a chance at all. Not with Shinra around."

Tifa smiled. "Then, let's wait and see what happens. Now you've got all the time in the world to help figure out what the Planet needs."

"All the time in the world, huh?"

"Mm-hmm." Tifa's smile brightened. "If anyone's gonna figure it out, I know it'll be you."

The large man chuckled at her statement. "You say I have all the time in the world, but I always wonder if I'm using it wisely..." He shook his head. "Either way, I hope you're right."

Tifa eventually wandered back over to the children, noting Cloud and Cid's exchanges as the pilot maneuvered the ship past the edge of the city's view. They passed over open fields that grew greener in color the further they strayed from civilization, coming upon winding riverbeds and rocky outcroppings.

"So pretty…" Marlene murmured, absolutely entranced by the sites.

"It is," Tifa agreed. She looked over to Denzel, who had grown very quiet. "Isn't it pretty, Denzel?" Tifa prodded the boy, always worried whenever he became silent.

"…I've never seen anything like this before," he stated plainly. "There's so much more out here… More than I ever knew… I mean, I've seen things like this on TV, but…"

"Midgar doesn't even begin to do the rest of the world justice." Cloud's voice had interjected before he walked over to Denzel, placing a hand on his shoulder. "For right now, your job is to stay with us and do well in school. But when you get a little older, you'll see all the world has to offer." He looked over to the little girl, her eyes still looking over the dashboard eagerly. "You too, Marlene."

"…Will you show me?" Denzel asked.

"Of course I will," Cloud replied. "I'll take you both to all of the places I've talked about someday. Maybe someday soon." He ruffled the boy's hair, flashing a small smile to Tifa that caused her heart to skip a beat before retreating out of the cockpit. Tifa wasn't sure where he was going.

"Don't know what you're waiting for," Barret mumbled after Tifa waited a minute for his return. She blushed and exited the cockpit, smiling and nodding at the few engineers who were working on the bridge. Tifa found Cloud exactly where she thought he'd be, out on the side deck of the ship, an empty bottle of ether in his hand.

"You feeling okay?" she asked.

"Mm," he hummed absently. "That takeoff made me pretty nauseous. I should have drunk one of these beforehand." Tifa frowned, her face showing concern. Cloud smiled reassuringly. "It'll pass soon."

They watched the picturesque landscape pass beneath them, the craggily cliffside formations quickly morphing into pure, ocean blue. Tifa felt a strange sense of nostalgia, something both exciting and vaguely painful. They had crossed these oceans many times before on their journey together. But, Cloud had rarely kept her company in the way that he was now, nor had she kept his. There was only one instance where they had shared a quiet moment together like this, watching the same watery bodies pass beneath them.

It had been shortly after Cloud's recovery in the Lifestream. Shortly after he was truly  _himself_ and after he had made a speech to his comrades that made him sound like the hero he always wanted to be. Meteor was going to fall in seven days' time, and their showdown with Sephiroth was to come the next day. Cloud didn't beg for anyone to stay and fight by his side. Rather, he had asked them all to leave. He had told them to 'find their reason' for fighting, and if they so chose, to come back. Everyone had left but Tifa. "What are you going to do?" Cloud had asked her. She had shaken her head, reminding him solemnly that she didn't have anyone or anywhere to go home to. Just like him.

They had wandered aimlessly out to the deck of the Highwind together, while the large airship flew on autopilot by Cid's calculations. It was supposed to stop at some specific coordinates in the North, so that everyone who had left may find it again the next day, if they were to come back. Tifa remembered that her mind had been utterly blank as they silently watched the sea pass beneath them. She didn't know how long they stayed out there together, both looking off into the distance at nothing, and daring not to speak for fear of ruining whatever sort of moment they were having.

Cloud groaned quietly, and Tifa snapped out of her thoughts in an instant. "You're sure you're okay?" she questioned again. Cloud smiled lightly, turning to look at her.

"I look fine, don't I?" His tone was almost playful.

Tifa blushed, brushing a silly thought about how great he always looked out of her mind. "You look like you're about to puke any second now."

The airship shook somewhat violently for a second's time as Cid hit some sort of turbulence, and Cloud and Tifa both grabbed onto the rails of the balcony. Cloud definitely didn't look pleased about it.

"If Cid keeps doing that, I might," he huffed, shaking his head. "I'll be fine, though. Really. It's just been a while since I've been on an airship. I forget how rough it is…"

Tifa nodded. She hadn't been on an airship in a couple of months, since Cloud's fight with Kadaj and Sephiroth's reincarnate form, but he hadn't been on one since, she assumed, his first battle with Sephiroth. She frowned at the grim reminder of how much of Cloud's life still revolved around that evil man. He had wormed his way into every important part of Cloud's life like a virus. He still haunted his dreams and he left him wary of his future.

"What is it?" Cloud asked, pulling Tifa from her thoughts again. He must have noticed the angry look on her face. Tifa bit her lip, unsure if she should voice her thoughts. Today was supposed to be fun… And she didn't want to trigger painful memories for Cloud or cause him any unnecessary worry.

"Hm?" he prodded gently, cocking his head to the side. Tifa sighed.

"Do you think… Do you ever think you'll be able to move on from Sephiroth?"

The name itself caused Cloud's entire form to stiffen, his eyes burning brighter blue.

"I know that's a really sudden question…" Tifa continued. "But he's gone, and… He just won't seem to leave you alone. I mean… How is that even possible? I just… I just wish you weren't burdened by him…"

Cloud swallowed thickly, looking into the distance. "Tifa… I think you have to realize that Sephiroth will always be a part of me. A dark, terrible part of me that I wish I could distance myself from. But he will always be there, waiting, in the back of my mind. When I dream… When I have those nightmares… I'm not sure if my own mind is creating them, or if Sephiroth is still there somehow. Still inside my head." He tapped the side of his temple for emphasis.

Tifa's shock was apparent on her face. "He's dead," she said uncertainly.  _He is, isn't he?_  she thought. "You killed him."

"Three times," Cloud corrected her. "Who else do you know that can resurrect twice, let alone even once?"

Tifa bowed her head, unsure of what to say.

"I'm learning to live with it," Cloud stated. "I'm learning to live with a lot of things, Tifa. And I won't let him overpower me or control my life. Even if he  _does_ come back… Or if he never does again. Even if it's my own mind torturing me every night. It's not like I haven't gotten pretty used to that, too."

The way he said it, so plainly and calmly, like it was totally normal to be tortured by his own mind, caused something inside Tifa to break. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she wrapped her arms around Cloud, pulling his body close to hers. "You deserve so much better than this," she whispered.

Cloud held her for a moment, before speaking very quietly. "You say that… But this is all I really need."

Tifa felt his hand pet her hair gently, the other holding her close. "But…" she began to protest.

"Do you remember when we looked out over the deck of the  _Highwind_  together?"

Tifa nodded into his chest, arms still tightly wrapped around him. "I was just thinking of it…"

Cloud made a small noise of acknowledgement. "Even though I didn't say anything to you then… I was thinking the same thing. That no matter what happened, no matter if I won or lost against Sephiroth, I didn't need anything else but you by my side to give me the strength to fight him. So… I don't care if it's real, or if it's fake. If he's here or if he's not. As long as I can have you there to fall back on… He can't touch me." He hugged her tighter, his voice darkening. "And he sure as hell won't touch you, or anyone else that I care about, ever again."

Tifa frowned, fighting the stinging sensation that her tears offered her.

_Anyone that he cares about…_   _He's already taken someone so important to him. Someone he'll never get back._

Cloud released her and smiled gently, letting the back of his fingers stroke her cheek.

_Someone irreplaceable. Someone I can never be._

"You're worrying yourself over me again," he observed. "But I'm perfectly okay, as long as you're around."

Tifa smiled back weakly in return. "Your stomach?" she questioned, fighting the urge to give in to her tears.

"Feels a little better," he replied. "But I'm more concerned with how  _you_ feel." He reached down and gently grasped her hand. "Come on, let's go back to the others."

Tifa nodded, swallowing her feelings into her stomach and tucking away her worries for now.

• **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

Before long, the western continent had come into view, the gigantic vision of the Gold Saucer not far behind it. Marlene and Denzel were in amazement.

"It's huge!" the girl declared.

"I don't remember it being this big," Denzel commented, his eyes wide and much brighter than before.

"You've been here before?" Tifa asked.

The young boy nodded. "Once… A few years ago. My parents took me on our vacation." His face fell after he spoke, the excitement dissolving from his features. "It was one of the last fun times we had together. All three of us, I mean…"

Barret hung his head, well-aware of the fact that he was partially responsible for the death of Denzel's parents, just as Cloud and Tifa were. Marlene kept quiet, unsure of what to say, and Cid did as well, focusing on maneuvering the Shera through the foggy patches of sky. Cloud was watching them silently.

"Oh, Denzel…" Tifa cooed, squatting down to his eye level and tucking a tuft of wavy hair behind his ear.

"…Dad was busy with work a lot. And if he wasn't busy, mom was."

Tifa frowned. Even though his real parents weren't with him any longer, his surrogate parents shared a similar story. Cloud was always away for work, and Tifa was always busy running the bar… Up until the last few days.

So much had been changing in such a short period of time. Good things and bad things alike. If it felt like a lot on her shoulders, it must have been the world on Denzel's.

"It feels weird to feel sad right now…" Denzel admitted, showing a surprisingly honest side of himself to Tifa. "But I kind of do."

"It's okay, sweetheart," she soothed him. "We all get sad sometimes."

"Even when you're supposed to be having fun?"

To Tifa's surprise, Cloud chuckled quietly. He came over by them and kneeled down by Denzel as well, a small smile on his face.

"Denzel, I want to tell you a secret."

"A secret?"

"Yeah, a secret. It's a secret that nobody knows, except maybe Tifa. But I don't mind if everyone hears. The truth is, I feel sad a lot of the time.  _Especially_ when I'm supposed to be having fun."

"…Because of the nightmares?" he questioned.

Cloud shrugged. "That's part of it, yes. But I get sad about my past a lot, too. And I get angry, and I feel really confused. The pain that you feel when you think of the ones you've lost…" Everyone in the cockpit paused, Cloud's words ringing true for each of them. "…That sort of pain sticks with you forever. And sometimes, happy memories can be painful. But…" He glanced at Tifa, and she noted how relaxed his features were. His eyes… They almost didn't look so dark and hollow anymore. "Even though your memories aren't replaceable… You can still make new, happy memories, too. Trust me when I say that dwelling on the past doesn't get you anywhere. Tifa would agree with that."

"It's true," she concurred.

"I want you to have a great day," Cloud said, smiling at Denzel. "I want everyone to."

Denzel nodded, bravely putting on a genuine smile. "Okay, Cloud. I'm ready for us all to have a good day, too."

Cloud ruffled his hair. "That's the spirit."

• **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•  
**

The terrain surrounding the Gold Saucer was barren and ugly from all the years of Mako energy consumption needed to run the edifice, but the park itself gleamed bright and beautiful. It was gloriously huge – really, a dream-come-true for both children and adults alike. Like any other large business on the face of the Planet, it held its dark secrets, but maintained an innocent appearance on the surface

"Alright, who's ready to have some fun?" Tifa chirped, smiling brightly.

"Me!" both of the kids said in unison.

"Me too!" Barret laughed. Cloud smirked as they made their way towards the tram that would take them into the towering theme park. The kids looked out the window with excitement, their eyes aglow like it were Christmas morning.

The Gold Saucer was just as giant and magical as Tifa remembered. Many large, gold-colored plates housed the different arcade and ride areas. The expansive, rainbow-paved chocobo track could be seen in the distance. The upbeat music grew louder and louder as the railcar approached the end of the track. As soon as everyone stepped off, the ambient chatter and the faint scent of food entered their senses. Cloud led the way to the decorative moogle mouth, which served as the main entrance to the park.

"Welcome to the Gold Saucer!" greeted a spritely young attendant. Cloud pulled out the lifetime pass that he had bought on their journey two years ago from his pocket.

"Oh, great! This should cover the five of you," the attendant commented, scanning the ticket and then clicking away at the computer behind the glass reception wall. "It looks like you still have 15,263 GP attached to your name… Mr… Strife?" Cloud nodded, and the receptionist leaned over to get a better view of him and the short blade that was holstered behind him. "…Usually, I'd have to tell you that weapons are forbidden here as of last year, but Dio gave us specific orders to give you and your party special treatment."

"I'll have to give him my regards. Thanks."

Cloud motioned for Tifa and the others to follow him, but the attendant asked him to wait, her eyes becoming wide.

"So… You're really  _the_ Cloud Strife?"

He nodded once more, then continued on his way. "Have a nice visit!" the attendant called behind them, her confusion apparent, and Tifa began to wonder just how well-known Cloud had become around the Planet. She had noticed that small, surprised interactions had begun to happen more frequently whenever Cloud met somebody new. He never had much to say in return, but he usually quietly confirmed that he was  _the_ Cloud Strife that people may have heard about.

"You want to pay Dio a visit?" Tifa questioned.

Cloud chuckled dryly. "Not really."

The entrance opened up into a large, circular area that was decorated with bright, neon colors, a network of marked tunnels that would lead them into different areas surrounding all of them. People milled about happily; a person in a fat chocobo costume waddled over and handed both of the kids a gold balloon, waving and squawking out a "Kweh!" before toddling away. The kids both giggled, even though Denzel looked slightly embarrassed.

"Alright kids, we can go wherever you want!" Barret announced jubilantly. "Where will it be first?"

"Let's go play some games!" Marlene suggested. Denzel nodded in approval.

"Alright! To the Wonder Square we go!"

Walking through the mass of people was a somewhat slow endeavor, as the Gold

Saucer was just as packed as ever. Tifa placed a hand on each of the kids' shoulders, guiding them behind Barret's broad figure; at least he parted the crowds pretty well. She blushed lightly when she felt Cloud's hand on the small of her back, guiding her as well.

Marlene and Denzel both gasped in awe when they reached the main arcade room; there was practically every sort of game one could imagine in the crowded space. Electronic dance games, skee ball, basketball, racing games – this place had everything. Tifa fondly remembered playing around with some of the games the last time she had been here; it had been one of the few moments of respite in their journey. She decided to pick up a game of basketball with Denzel as Marlene played with Barret and Cloud watched on. Tifa only had to go a  _little_ easy on Denzel, as she was decent, but Denzel was pretty good himself. Barret lost fair-and-square to Marlene. He was big and strong, but fine-tuned accuracy wasn't his strong suit.

Tifa giggled lightly when Cloud suggested that he and Denzel race each other on one of the motorcycle games. Denzel wasn't quite as adept at that game, and Cloud took the time to teach him how to better maneuver the electronic bike. "I'll show you how to actually ride a motorcycle when you get a little older," he noted. Denzel seemed incredibly pleased with that idea.

The kids had run over to play skee ball and a couple of other games that awarded GP and prize tickets, with Barret close behind them. "Teef, come here," Cloud had said, pulling her towards a game stand that reminded her of something you would see at a county fair. There were stacked glasses lining the game area, and lots of plushy prizes hanging up on the wooden walls. "Think Marlene and Denzel would like those?"

He was referring to the cute little chocobo plushies lining the walls, each in a different color. Tifa nodded. "Definitely," she said with a smile.

Cloud tried his hand at the game, but he found that he wasn't as good at it as he expected to be. After three tries, he shrugged, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Let me give it a shot," Tifa chirped.

She took Cloud's place at the game stand and readied her aim, concentrating intently. She missed a few times, but after a couple of tries, she had successfully managed to win the game. She picked a different-colored chocobo for each of the kids, satisfied with her work.

"Good job," Cloud commented, smirking.

Everyone continued to enjoy their time together for a while; both Marlene and Denzel were holding onto their plushies tightly as they eventually made their way to a large, open food and shopping area.

"You guys hungry?" Barret asked. Both of the kids agreed in unison, but Cloud shot Tifa a look.

"Actually, I think we might take off for a little while and meet back up with you later… If that's okay?" The blonde looked at Tifa, cocking his head. She felt her heart skip a beat.

"Yeah, apparently I owe Cloud a chocobo race," she teased. "How about we give you a call later on? Denzel, Marlene, you'll be good with Barret, right?"

"Yeah!" they responded enthusiastically. Barret chuckled.

"Alright, you two have fun. Give us a call in a little while. We're gonna grab some grub."

After waving goodbye, Cloud and Tifa made their way towards the chocobo racetrack. The transit tubes took them there pretty quickly, and before they knew it, they were standing at the bottom of a huge stairwell that would lead them up to the tracks.

"So, you want your race that bad, do ya?" Tifa teased again, leaning forward to look at Cloud's profile. "You know you're just gonna lose, right?"

Cloud turned to face her, his expression serious. "You underestimate me."

Oddly enough, the mixture of his expression and the no-nonsense tone of his voice sent a chill down Tifa's spine. She almost couldn't even tell if he was messing with her, or if he wanted to win this race  _that_ badly.

"Let's add some stakes to it, then," Tifa chirped. "Winner gets to pick what we do next! Loser has to admit their defeat." She stepped in front of Cloud and extended her hand in a show of good sportsmanship. Cloud smirked, taking her hand and shaking it firmly.

"You're on."

After signing up and paying a small fee, both Tifa and Cloud were ready to ride. They had to choose from the chocobos that lived at the Gold Saucer, since they had released the chocobos that they had both caught long ago.

"I still kind of miss Clementine sometimes…" Tifa mused, saddling up on a black chocobo.

"What kind of a name is 'Clementine' for a chocobo, anyway?" Cloud prodded as he prepared to ride a strong, red chocobo.

"Says the guy who named his gold chocobo 'Goldy'. So original," she responded sarcastically.

Cloud frowned. "It was a good name…"

They didn't have much time left to poke fun at each other before the race began. The contestants were good; at least a few of them had to be professional chocobo trainers. Tifa had tried her best to bond with her new, feathery friend before the races began, hoping that it would cause the creature to behave batter. She kicked her foot against its side, and it squawked, speeding up after hopping a little. Tifa smiled – she still had it.

Cloud, on the other hand, seemed to be having some issues with his chocobo. The large bird was repeatedly squawking at him, its feathers ruffled up in irritation. The other riders seemed to zip past him, and Tifa gave him a sympathetic glance before speeding past a few other racers. She knew Cloud was good with his own trained animals; maybe he was just having an off-day.

Tifa didn't come in first, but she did place third. Cloud came in next-to-last. He looked upset with himself. Tifa, on the other hand, was pretty satisfied with her performance.  _You can take a girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of a girl…_ she mused.

She approached Cloud after the race had finished and her chocobo was safely put back in his stable.

"I won," she stated, trying not to break out into a smug smile.

"Fair and square," Cloud agreed. "I admit my defeat. So, what do you want to do?"

"Hmm… I don't know yet." Tifa smiled, kicking her feet up playfully as she wandered away. "I'll have to think about it."

Cloud smiled too. "Guess I have no choice."

Tifa finally did break out into a full smile when she felt Cloud's hand reach for hers. They intertwined their fingers and wandered aimlessly for some time. Tifa didn't really have anything in particular she wanted to do. She just wanted to have the chance to tease Cloud. To  _flirt_  with him, whether she realized that or not.

"Hold on," Cloud commanded.

"Hm?" Tifa stopped, feeling the gentle tug of her hand. Something had caught Cloud's attention, but not in the urgent, dutiful way she was used to seeing. Upon looking in the same direction he was looking, she saw nothing of interest other than an ice cream stand. The sign above it read  _Biggest Milkshakes on the Planet!_

They caught each other's eyes, and Cloud shrugged. "Only ten GP."

Tifa stared blankly at him for a heartbeat, before bursting into a fit of laughter.

"What's so funny?"

"I've just never seen you look so serious about  _ice cream,_ " she giggled. "Let's get some."

The sign wasn't lying; the milkshakes were  _huge_ , and Tifa declined Cloud's offer to buy her one.

"Well, what kind do you think I should get, then?" Cloud asked.

Tifa helped pick out some ridiculous concoction, consisting of triple fudge and chunks of cookies. Though it was insignificant in and of itself, the act of picking out the treat together felt so normal and almost juvenile. When Cloud offered her some of it, claiming that there was no way he could finish the entire thing himself, Tifa caught herself blushing. It seemed strangely intimate; she wondered if she was feeling the way that teenagers felt when they went on dates together. Though they were long past their teenage years, Tifa remembered that they had never gotten to really experience those sorts of common little moments.

The longer they strolled together, the more Tifa began to think that Cloud was feeling the same way. She watched him open up into almost an entirely new person; he laughed with her, making small quips about some of the more eccentric-looking guests at the park, and bringing up random, uncharacteristic pieces of conversation. He was still playfully teasing her, and Tifa had never felt so happy to talk about nothing in particular.

After a while, Tifa finally decided what she wanted to do. Her eyes fell on the entrance to the gondola. Twilight was approaching, and the little cable cars on the metal tracks looked inviting.

"Alright, Cloud, I see what I wanna do!" she announced. "Let's go ride the gondola together!" Tifa smiled brightly, tugging him along. "Come on, it's almost time for the fireworks show! I wanna see them from up there!" Cloud followed her lead, but his footsteps had become slower and heavier. Tifa ignored it, letting go of his hand as he paid for two tickets to ride. She ducked inside the small lift and Cloud followed behind her, unsheathing his sword and propping it in the corner of the lift before silently sitting down on the opposite side of her. The rails began to pull them upwards as soon as they had seated themselves. Cloud said nothing, his elbows resting on his knees and his hands folded beneath his chin, the little characteristic pucker of his brows knitting together lightly. Something was wrong.

"Cloud? …Is everything okay?"

He nodded his head once, though the expression didn't leave his face. "…It's just… Strangely nostalgic. But, not really in a good way."

Tifa didn't understand. Had he come here and ridden this gondola when he was a kid? When he was training to become a SOLDIER? Had something bad happened?

Cloud noted the expression on her face and sighed, sitting up straighter. "When we all came here two years ago… The night we all stayed in the Ghost Hotel… I was awake, and… Aerith came and knocked on my door. Asked me to go on a little 'date' with her."

"…Oh." It hit her like a ton of bricks. She blinked once, twice, stupidly, her expression blank.  _Damn it,_ she cursed herself, difficult feelings welling up inside her. Just when things were going so well, she managed to somehow screw it up. This was the last thing Cloud needed. This was the last thing  _she_ needed. And why… Why did she feel so  _jealous?_

"…She practically had to drag me out of the room," he continued. His voice was serious, not a trace of humor lacing his tone. "And the whole thing was pretty dumb. But she enjoyed herself… And I guess, maybe I had fun, too… We rode this gondola together. Just like this."

Tifa was silent. She clutched at the hem of her shorts, willing the threat of welling tears to fade away.

_Of all the times in the world to feel jealous… Jealous over a person who isn't even here now, over a person who I called my friend…_

_Why do I feel this way?_

"When we were in here… I felt nervous," Cloud continued. "But… Not nervous in the usual way. I knew that she was going to say something important to me. I just wasn't so sure what…" He paused, reflecting on his memory. "She told me… That she was searching for me. Searching for the 'real' me. Back then, I had no idea what she was talking about." He shook his head. "She told me I reminded her of somebody. Said I walked the same, gestured the same... None of it made sense. I blew her off."

Tifa stole a glance at him before staring hard at the metal floor. "…Zack?" she questioned.

He sighed heavily, nodding once. "I still can't believe that I forgot who I was. Who  _he_ was… All that time spent, just,  _pretending.._. And Aerith? She… Never got to meet me. And she never will."

Tifa refused to look up, but she spoke softly. "Sometimes… There are things that you wish you could change about your past. There are things left unspoken. And, sometimes… It's just too hard to say it. And then, it's too late." Cloud was silent. "Me and Aerith… Well, there were a lot of unspoken things between us."

"…I know."

"I wonder… If, at times… It's best if things are left unspoken."

Tifa felt his piercing gaze fall upon her. "Why do you say that?" he asked quietly.

"It's… Hard to explain…"

He was silent in thought for a long moment. "Lots of things are hard to explain, aren't they?" he finally murmured. "Everything that has ever happened to me seems hard to explain. And yet… It happened. Maybe unspoken words cause nothing but pain…"

_If only you knew…_ Tifa thought solemnly.

"I wish I could have told her a lot of things," Cloud admittedly. "But I'm not sure what I would have said." He sighed, letting his shoulders drop with the weight of his breath. "She liked you a lot, you know."

"She liked you a lot, too," Tifa replied, almost too hastily. She could feel the tears threatening to escape her eyes, her breath becoming shaky and her heartbeat quickening. "I think…" She licked her dry lips, unsure of why she was saying what she was about to say. "I think it hurts you because you never got the chance… You never got the chance to say what you needed to say…"

"…I don't know."

Tifa drew in a shaky breath, holding back her feelings as she reached desperately for the truth. "Cloud… Don't you ever wonder how she felt about you?" He said nothing in response. "You… You loved her, didn't you?" she prodded, regretting the question as soon as she had asked it.

Cloud's silence was tortuous, and Tifa wallowed in it, accepting what she had known all along. Aerith had loved Cloud and Cloud had loved her. Tifa had just been there when Aerith couldn't be. If  _she_  were here, if  _she_  were alive… Tifa would have never known the taste of Cloud's lips. The look of desperation in his eyes. The touch of his hands and the warmth of his body. The little smiles and the gentle expressions, the tiny acts of chivalry and kindness. The torturously decadent feelings that he gave her. The sense of wanting and being wanted in return. She was, and had always been, Aerith's replacement. And, for some reason, in her stupid, hurt, twisted mind… She was almost okay with that.

"…Did I…  _Love_ her?" Cloud repeated the question aloud. He turned his gaze towards the window, his eyes faraway. "Maybe… In some ways, yes… I guess you could say that. She was special… I didn't know her for long, but in that time, I feel like I learned a lot about her…" His eyes dropped to the floor again as he shook his head. "But… When it really comes down to it…" He looked back at Tifa, shame and sadness reflecting in his eyes. "No. I didn't love her. At least, not in that way… I don't think."

… _No?_

"'N-No?'" she repeated, dumbfounded.

"Tifa… I…" He sighed. "This is difficult…"

"You don't need to-"

"Just…" He held his hand up and breathed, collecting his thoughts very slowly. "I want you… To understand something." He stood up, taking the two short paces to the window and looking out it again. "I don't know how Aerith really felt about me. And that wouldn't be so bad, if I knew how I felt about her. But I don't. I really don't. Back then… You know how things were. I know that I felt…  _Something_ for her. I cared about her. She was my friend, even if I didn't realize it then. I wanted to protect her. I wanted to save her… And I couldn't do that." He clenched his fist, seemingly without realizing it. "When Sephiroth murdered her… It hurt. It hurt…  _So_ damn bad. Maybe because it was stirring up feelings that I had buried deep inside. Feelings that, maybe, I would have felt when Zack died, had my mind been stable back then. Tifa… You know." He turned back and looked at her, his features vaguely contorted with emotion. "You know that I didn't know who I was. I didn't know what was happening. And I didn't know whose thoughts and feelings… Were actually  _mine_. But, if something was powerful enough… I think  _I_ really felt it… And… Even though what I felt towards Aerith was confusing and strong, I've never known… To this day… If those were even  _my_  true feelings…"

"Cloud…" Her silent tears had finally begun to flow.

He shook his head, his voice breaking as he spoke. "Teef… I don't think I'll ever really know. There's no simple answer to that question, but… The truth is, I've never dwelled on it too much. When it comes to Aerith, everything about her memory revolves around the guilt I felt towards her. The guilt that I still feel, even though I promised you I would move on from what happened. Even though I asked her to be forgiven… I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to fully move on from the past… And I won't ask you to accept that from me. But I do want to ask you, to just, try to understand…" He sat back down on the bench, his collectedness breaking and leaving him looking absolutely drained. His eyes – those shockingly soft, sweet eyes – showed years of pain, and for just a second's time, he looked like he might break. Tifa couldn't find the courage to speak – to think, even. Her very essence was focused on Cloud's revelations. "Now that you've actually asked me out loud… Asked a question that I've never really bothered to ask myself…" he seemed to think aloud, more than speak to her. "I think I was too scared of what the answer might be. But looking at you now… I feel like I've known the answer all along." He shook his head, his own piercing, blue eyes watery and sincere. "She just… Wasn't the girl for me."

It was a shockwave of emotion; it was insecurity and a jolt of confidence all jumbled up together. It was a complete, rejuvenating, terribly confusing wash of relief over Tifa's stinging wounds. She stared at him, totally in disbelief, watching how his serious gaze never broke, how he never blushed, never looked away, but looked unwaveringly  _genuine_ in everything he had just told her.

"I just… Need you to know," he continued, "that she will always be a part of my life. Just like Zack... But not really like him, either. And just like Sephiroth, no matter how much I hate him. I may never fully move on from the memories. I may never know all the answers. I can try, but no matter what I do... My past is something I will always have to contend with… And the past is a very fuzzy, hazy, confusing thing for me. But they were  _there._  They were a part of it. And… I don't know if you can handle that. Or if it's selfish of me to ask you to."

"You don't know if I can handle it?" she whispered, almost incredulous. She reached out across the short distance between them and cupped Cloud's cheeks. "We've been through so much together… Your past and mine – they're intertwined, too." Her hands fell naturally from his face, from his saddened expression and down to his warm, perfectly empty hands. "Time and time again, we come right back to this place."

"What do you mean?" he questioned, stress tugging at his features.

Tifa stared at their hands, physically woven together just as their lives were. "A place of misunderstanding. You work so hard to protect my feelings, and then I do the same for you. But in the end, we both just end up confused. Maybe  _I've_  been the selfish one, Cloud. Maybe I haven't taken the time to actually listen to what you have to say. You close yourself off, and then I try to pry you back open, but each time, I don't know if I've ever really  _listened…_ And it just goes in a neverending circle. Until now…" She looked back up at him, tears unabashedly falling silent down her face. "I think I really understand now… There's a lot of puzzle pieces in your past, and they don't all perfectly fit together to form the right picture. But they're  _there,_ just like you said. Maybe, what each piece means… Maybe that doesn't matter so much, after all. Or maybe, that's only for you to really know. The truth is…" She smiled, her heart filling up with a sense of purity, a sense of something very tangible and very  _real._  "I'm just happy being a part of your puzzle, too."

Cloud released her hands and roughly wrapped himself around her shoulders, squeezing tightly. "You are  _more_ than a part of the puzzle, Tifa. You're… You're basically the whole damn thing."

"Cloud…"

"I'm sorry… For how confusing this must be for you… How it must have been in the past…" He buried his face in the side of her neck, words muffled against her skin. "If you think you've never tried to listen, then it's probably because I've never tried to speak. I know I've kept myself so closed off from you. And, even now, it's still hard for me to do any of this. But…  _Damn it_ , Tifa…"

"You forgot already," she murmured into his shoulder, letting her own arms wrap around him, as well. "No more apologies, right? Maybe… Maybe we've got this all wrong. Maybe it isn't  _about_ moving on from your past. Maybe it isn't about worrying about the future, either." Tifa pulled away, leveling her gaze with Cloud's and smiling gently through her tears. "Maybe it's just about accepting what the past was… Accepting what the future might be… And living in the present as much as we possibly can."

Cloud reached up and brushed his fingers along Tifa's cheek, wiping away her tears as he had done many times before. "Just 'be'?" he suggested, echoing her sentiment from just a few nights ago. She nodded.

"Yeah… That's right."

_Aerith…_

_When it all comes down to it… I owe you so much._

_Beyond saving the Planet, beyond saving all of our lives… The impact you've made on us… The impact you've made on the people that I care about, and the impact that you've made on me, in the short time that I knew you…_

_I think, if I'm feeling jealous of your spirit, then maybe I'm missing something. Maybe I've spent too much of my time thinking too simply. Or… Maybe not thinking simply enough. Your presence here was a gift. Because of you, Cloud is who he is, and I am who I am. We'd be totally different people, if it weren't for you._

_If you had never been here… If you had never journeyed with us… Would we even still be in the same place that we are now? Would I think the same way that I do now? Feel the same? Act the same, and love, and live, and breathe the same?_

… _Would he?_

_It's okay, I think... Okay to dwell on all of these 'what-ifs' and 'maybes'… For a little while, at least… But, at some point, I have to stop. I have to stop running my mind in endless circles and never coming to any answers or conclusions. What purpose does it serve, other than to cause pointless suffering?_

_You were so present, when you were here. I wonder, if I can feel your presence now… You told me that I knew what I needed to do…_

_I need… To…_

"You have that look on your face," Cloud murmured. "That look that tells me you're thinking about a lot of things that I won't be able to work out on my own."

Tifa smiled as Cloud wiped away the last of her tears. Colorful bursts of light illuminated the little cabin, the gunpowder shots heard far in the distance. Tifa looked out the window, but Cloud's eyes never left her face. "The fireworks…" she commented absently. "…They're really pretty."

"Beautiful," Cloud agreed. Tifa looked back, her eyes slightly wide.

"…I'm thinking… That I'm happy that you got to have that moment with her, Cloud," she said honestly, all of the bitterness washed away like Aerith's cleansing rain. "I know it was important to you."

"…Yeah. I am, too. It was… It  _was_  important to me." Gently, he brushed Tifa's bangs away from her forehead, and placed an innocent kiss on her warm skin. Her stomach tumbled and fluttered in response, and Cloud smiled softly as she blushed. "But this is  _our_  moment, Teef." He turned to look out the window again, and Tifa did as well. "You know… the future's not so bad, when you really think about it."

"Even if bad things might happen?"

He nodded, watching the explosions in the sky. "I don't want to spend all my time feeling afraid anymore… Or guilty, or anything else that isn't 'happy'. If something bad happens…" Tifa watched his starry eyes dart across the sky, a sense of hope filling her up deep inside her wounded heart. "…We'll worry about that when the time comes. Until then… I think I feel excited."

Tifa smiled, leaning her head against Cloud's shoulder. "Me, too."

_I need to…_

_Really… I should thank you. I should thank you for being there for Cloud during the times that I wasn't. I should thank you for caring about him so strongly. For caring about me so strongly, as well._

_Aerith… Thank you. Thank you for being my friend. For being his._

_I understand now… I just need to…_

_Live._

• **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

Tifa and Cloud were silent as they walked hand-in-hand away from the gondola. Cloud was smiling, his eyes no longer distant and his body language no longer aloof. Something seemed different about him; but, maybe, something was different about Tifa, as well.

"We should probably get back to the others soon," he said. Tifa nodded in agreement. "But first," he continued, "is there anywhere else you'd like to go?"

"Nowhere in particular."

_I'm just happy to be here with you._

As if he read her mind, he led her through the masses of people without further question, simply enjoying her presence. They wandered through the Event Square without any sense of urgency, people-watching and making the occasional, quiet comment to each other. It was, in a sense, sobering – as if they'd both discovered some sort of clarity in the gondola that they had been searching for together. Yet, at the same time, Tifa felt like she was riding on high. "You alright?" Cloud had asked her gently. Tifa just smiled and nodded, wrapping her free hand around his arm and leaning her head against his shoulder.

They were content like this for some time, simply wandering through a sea of people as the lights in the park glowed brighter beneath the darkened sky. Cloud's demeanor was soft and gentle – calm, as if he were at peace. For a short time, Tifa felt like she was truly living in the moment, rather than worrying about her past or her future, and she wondered if Cloud were feeling the same.

That's why she paused, concerned, when she felt Cloud halt in the middle of his step, his eyes narrowing.

"Keep walking," he instructed calmly. "Someone is following us."

"Who?" she asked, her eyes widening as she feigned ignorance to being tracked.

"Not sure, but I can sense them. Let's lead them somewhere less crowded."

Tifa nodded, and they continued their charade, her arm still tightly wrapped around Cloud's. She felt uneasy, the previous feelings of serenity falling away from her senses. They rounded a corner that led into an empty alleyway, and Cloud finally stopped in his tracks, bringing Tifa to a halt as well.

"Hmph," Cloud chuckled. "Either you wanted me to know you're here, or you're just bad at trailing me." He turned, unlinking his arm with Tifa's, and directed his words at the person behind him. "Let's talk, Trent. I know you've been wanting to."

"…Trent?" Tifa echoed, confused. It was him, alright – all dressed up in a long coat and sunglasses in a poor attempt to hide his identity. "What are you doing here?"

"Good question," Cloud acknowledged, his hand reaching for his blade in its scabbard as he advanced on the man. "Got a good reason for why you're following us? Or do you have an excuse, instead?"

"Cloud-"

"Stay back!" Trent warned as he backed away. "I'm just here! This is all a big misunderstanding!"

"Is it?" Cloud questioned coldly, flipping his blade over in his hand.

"Stay away from me!"

"Cloud, wait!" Tifa tried to calm the swordsman, but he was already ten steps ahead of the other man.

Dangerous and controlled, Cloud's blade was firmly set against Trent's neck in an instant, pinning him tight against the concrete wall. Cloud jerked his head infinitesimally in Tifa's direction, acknowledging her but continuing his attack.

"Why were you following us? Lie to me and I'll cut you right here."

"Cloud, stop it!" Tifa pleaded, running to the two men and pushing against the hilt of Cloud's blade as Trent began to whimper. Cloud pulled his sword back into position as soon as Tifa lifted her hands from the blade.

"I wasn't!"

"I don't believe you," Cloud retorted.

Trent struggled against the pressure of Cloud's sword. Though it didn't draw any blood, it was enough to send the tawny-haired man into a panic. His eyes went wide, his breathing becoming erratic, and he tried to squirm free. Cloud eyed him maliciously, somehow daring him to make a wrong move beyond his pathetic struggling.

"Cloud, please!" Tifa was practically begging him to calm down. His calculated attack and cool demeanor betrayed the anger that she knew was building inside of him. As she tried to gain control of the situation, something fell out of Trent's pocket. Tifa picked it up, and her eyes grew wide at what she saw.

"…Cloud's maps?" She looked at Trent, questioning and unsure.

Cloud jerked his head to look at the evidence, his blade never leaving Trent's neck. "The ones that were missing from my desk drawer…"

"…Missing?" Tifa echoed.

_This must all just be a huge misunderstanding… It has to be… Doesn't it?_

"So you're a liar  _and_ a thief, now?" Cloud spat.

"Please!" Trent pleaded. "P-Please, I'll tell you everything!"

"Do it, then." Cloud pressed a little tighter on Trent's neck, and a slight trickle of blood began to seep out from the wound. The man was getting visibly more terrified by the second.

"Please don't kill me! I'll talk! I promise I'll talk!"

"Cloud!" Tifa interrupted. "Can't you tell he's scared? He's not gonna say anything in this state…"

"I'm not the least bit concerned about his 'state', Tifa."

"I know that, but  _I_ am!" she retorted. "Can we at least go someplace more private? He's being loud, and I'm worried that people are beginning to notice us…" She wasn't wrong. As she looked down both ends of the alley, she could see people in the distance craning their necks to look in their general direction. A mother appeared to be holding her children close to her, out of fear.

"…Fine," Cloud finally relented, taking notice of the park attendees as well. "We'll go to the Ghost Hotel. No time to waste." The blonde finally lifted his blade from the lanky man's neck, and motioned for him to lead the way. "Any wrong moves, and you'll regret it. Now move."

• **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

Cloud smacked his GP down roughly on the attendant's counter. "One bedroom," he barked, his eyes glowing intense with rage.

"Y-Yes, sir," the woman stammered before quickly typing on her computer. She was visibly nervous, and Tifa frowned deeply. This was a side of Cloud that she hadn't seen in a long time. A side that scared innocent people. The attendant fumbled with a card key, and Cloud all but snatched it out of her hand. He wasted no time in making his way towards the elevator. "Move it," he commanded to Trent, no nonsense in his voice or his demeanor. The attendant glanced at Cloud's blade, resting in its sheath.

Tifa smiled at the attendant meekly. "Don't worry, everything's okay. We won't be any trouble."

The martial artist hurried to Cloud and Trent, her mind reeling. To say the elevator ride to the fourth floor was uncomfortable would be an understatement. Trent was visibly shaking. He cast his gaze towards Tifa for a moment's time before staring hard at the metal floor again, opening and closing his mouth as if he wanted to speak, but was too scared to. Finally, he did.

"Tifa, I-"

"Shut up," Cloud growled. The elevator dinged and they all got off. Cloud had taken his blade from its scabbard again, and was pressing it into Trent's back. "Room 407," he instructed. Tifa didn't realize it at first, but she was shaking now, too. She was feeling a whirlwind of anger, fear, helplessness, sadness, and confusion. She didn't understand a thing. What was she supposed to think? And why was Cloud acting this way, after he had been so sweet and honest on the gondola? She couldn't believe that Trent was up to no good. He wasn't a bad person… Was he?

"Talk," Cloud commanded after unlocking the door and shoving Trent inside, the door slamming shut hard behind him and Tifa.

"I-I don't… I don't know what to-"

Cloud advanced on him, swinging his blade out to his side and roughly grabbing Trent by the front of his shirt. "Listen here, you piece of sh-"

"Cloud!"

Tifa stepped forward, tears welling up in her eyes, and pulled the swordsman away from Trent. "That's enough! Look at him…" Trent had gone pale as a ghost; he ripped his sunglasses off, breath heaving, looking both terrified and enraged. "You two have never seemed to get along, but this is taking it too far! There must be some sort of misunderstanding!"

Cloud regarded her for a long moment, mulling over her words.

"Alright, Trent," he said, his tone now as calm and as even as it could be. "Tifa says there's been a misunderstanding. Is this the case?"

Trent sniffed, anger and fear showing in his features. "…No," he admitted. "I followed both of you here."

"And my maps?" Cloud asked.

"I took them." He shook his head, almost looking ashamed. "I found the extra key to the bar, broke in, and snooped through your stuff. Took your maps so that I could try to track your location."

"You're working for Deepground," Cloud stated.

Trent shook his head. "Yes… And no…"

_What?!_

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Cloud questioned, mirroring Tifa's shock aloud.

"I never wanted to… Never wanted to do this…" Trent fell back onto one of the single beds, his gaze becoming distant and somewhat detached. "Any of this. But I had no choice…"

"Stop dancing around the question," Cloud spat, his anger threatening to take control again.

Tifa stepped forward, having been quiet and still before. She carefully placed her hand on Cloud's arm, signaling him to back off. This time, he listened.

"Trent…" she spoke lowly, calmly. "You're not making any sense. I need you to start from the beginning. Tell me what's going on…"

He shook his head, and tears began to pool in his eyes. "I can't do that, Tifa."

"Yes, you can," she coaxed, slowly walking closer to him. "It's very important to me. We're in danger, Trent. Are you… Are you putting us in danger?"

He shook his head again. "No… I'm protecting you from it."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean  _he's_ dangerous!" he suddenly exclaimed, pointing to Cloud. "A dangerous dead man who's gonna get you killed, Tifa!"

Cloud didn't seem to care about Trent's outburst, and he leaned against the wall coolly, waiting for Tifa to continue her work. He was entrusting her.

"Cloud's not dangerous, Trent," she replied. "I told you that. He's my friend."

"He's a bad person, and he doesn't care about you. He doesn't care about anyone but himself. But Tifa…  _I_ do.  _I_ care about you. That's why I have to protect you…"

"From Cloud?" she asked plainly.

"It's not just him," Trent replied. "But he's the reason why  _you're_  in danger.

Tifa frowned deeply. "What does Deepground want with Cloud?"

"I- I'm not sure," Trent stammered.

"Liar," Cloud spat, clenching his fist.

"No, I'm not lying! I- I really don't know! They wouldn't tell me that information… I don't even know who runs the operation! I work for a lowly Scout."

Tifa's frown deepened. "I need you to tell me more. The beginning, Trent. I need to know everything."

The panicked man sighed deeply. "I was 'recruited' by a Deepground Scout a few months ago. It seems like it's been much longer than it has… I really was a plumber, until then. I was working is a seedy part of the Midgar ruins, and that's when  _it_ happened."

Tifa's eyes widened. "When  _what_ happened?"

"My 'recruitment'. I was kidnapped, Tifa."

The brunette's hand flew up to her mouth. "Kidnapped?" she echoed.

Trent nodded his head solemnly. "A man knocked me in the back of the head, and when I woke up, I was in some place I had never been before. Someplace underground. I was told that I could have been killed, but they decided there was a use for me. I was made to do labor for them… Deepground, I mean, even though I didn't know who they were at the time. I couldn't deny them. If I tried to escape, they would murder me. If I tried to defy them…" His eyes grew wide and fearful. "Well, I can't explain it, but… I just  _couldn't._  Whatever they told me to do, I had to do it."

"Trent…" Tears welled up in Tifa's eyes. For some reason, she felt like all of this was somehow  _her_ fault. She thought she had become Trent's friend, but after all this time, she never had a clue about the truth. She never knew that he could have been killed by the very people that she and Cloud were desperately trying to learn about.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, holding back her tears as Cloud stood silent against the wall.

Trent shook his head. "I couldn't. I…" He shook his head again, sighing heavily. "I got off lucky, is what I did. I sweet-talked my superior as best I could. Told him I knew my way around Midgar and Edge. Told him I could be of use looking for the man I had overheard so many other members talking about… A man named  _Cloud Strife."_

Tifa turned to look at Cloud, but he only cast his eyes back in her direction, otherwise remaining almost statuesque in his stillness. He was restraining himself.

"They ignored me, at first," Trent continued, disregarding Tifa's saddened expression. "They beat me when I spoke out of turn. But I persisted. I had to get out of there, Tifa. I just  _had_ to." He closed his eyes, drawing in a long, shaky breath. "Then, I overheard my superior describing the appearance of another person they were looking for. A person that I had met in a bar a few weeks before I was kidnapped. That person… Was you, Tifa."

"M-Me?"

Trent nodded solemnly. "Yes… You. I knew they were talking about you as soon as I heard them describe your appearance. So I…" Trent shook his head, appearing to be gulping back tears. "I told them I knew you. I told them I could find you."

_No…_

_No… This can't be true…_

Cloud clenched his fist angrily, but otherwise kept still behind Tifa's trembling form. Tifa was in shock. Trent had… Trent had  _used_  them as bargaining chips _?_

"I lied, though…" Trent continued as Tifa stared at him, wide-eyed and silent. "I told them you moved around a lot… Made deliveries with Cloud all over the world… Never mentioned your bar… Never mentioned your children. They beat me some more, and then they mocked me. They asked me how  _I_ could find either one of you if you're always on the move. I told them, that if I stayed in one place long enough,  _you'd_ come find me, Tifa. And Cloud would be with you." Trent wiped at his eyes; his face looked stricken with guilt, betraying the dishonesty he had shown Tifa. "They finally relented… They sent me and my superior out. Blindfolded and handcuffed. Never knew where I came from, or where I was going. Before they let us go, they did  _this_ to me…" Trent pulled his jacket sleeve back, revealing a large, discolored scar on the length of his arm.

"Is that…?" Tifa whispered, her voice tight and unable to take form.

"Tracking device," Trent confirmed. "I cut it out myself, after I got away from my superior. I was lucky to escape. I was finally free… Free to come see you, Tifa. Free to protect you."

_Protect me…_

"Protect me…" she echoed aloud, finding a quiet part of her voice. "Protect me…" she repeated, her hand fluttering to her chest. "You were hurt… And you were scared… I can see that, Trent. You needed a way out… Any way out, or maybe you would have died. But…" She shook her head. "You never cared about protecting me. Me and Cloud… You used our names as a means of escaping." Tifa leaned down closer to Trent, her eyes level with his. "That's where this all started, didn't it? The man who attacked me in Edge… The behemoth that attacked Cloud and I when we were coming out of Midgar... The men who looked like SOLDIERs…"

Trent looked shocked. "I… I didn't know you were attacked, Tifa…"

"The day you came into the bar and scared me… I was attacked by a man that day. Large, with greasy black hair and a scruffy beard."

Trent's eyes widened. "My superior…"

"Tell me his name," Tifa ordered.

"Jericho… All I know is they call him Jericho…"

"And the monsters… They all attacked after we'd come out of Midgar… Could it be that they were looking for people on a motorcycle in the area?"

Trent was silent, his eyes tracing the floor and avoiding Tifa's penetrating gaze.

"Trent…" she prodded, her voice becoming colder and colder. "How many other people died because of this? People who looked like us?"

The tawny-haired man opened and closed his mouth stupidly. "I-I don't know. I don't know, Tifa. I just  _had_ to get out of there… You don't understand what they do to people down there…"

Tifa stared hard at the ground. She felt her heart grow cold, a stark contrast to the sympathy she had felt for the man just moments ago. "It was all a lie," she said aloud. "Everything… Our friendship… Our conversations about your work… The date… The tickets…"

"No!" Trent stood up, looking Tifa intensely in the eyes. "It wasn't all a lie. I only lied to keep you safe. I  _couldn't_  let you know the truth. But, I couldn't stay away from you, either. Every time I'd try to leave, something about you would pull me back. I worried about you constantly. You were always,  _always_ on my mind, Tifa. You and the kids. Those tickets I gave you…" He closed his eyes and gulped. "They're for you to escape."

"From what?" she said coolly, not a hint of tenderness in her tone any longer.

"From  _them._ "

Tifa slowly reached into her pocket and pulled the three tickets out. "The fifth through the eighth," she read aloud.

Trent nodded. "Before they let me outside of their facility… Those were the last dates I had overheard. Three days that they plan to launch an attack on Edge. All because of  _him,_ " he spat venomously as he eyed Cloud.

Tifa stared at him, her stomach lurching like she was going to be sick. "Trent… This can't be real…" She shook her head. "You weren't even going to tell me about this attack, were you? You just gave me those tickets and assumed everything would be okay. You  _wanted_ them to find Cloud. You wanted us to hurt."

"It was for your own good, Ti-"

"Save it," she interrupted coldly. "I've heard enough."

"Tifa,  _please!_ " he pleaded desperately.

The brunette woman shook her head. "You lied to me… You put me and my family in danger… Everything we've ever had… It's all been a lie." She clenched her fists tight, crumpling the tickets in her palm. "You dirty snake. You're nothing more than a rat."

"Tif-"

" _You hear me?!"_ she suddenly roared, grabbing Trent by the collar and swinging him around against the wall. "A rat! A filthy, lying snake in the grass! I can't  _believe_ you! You  _liar!_ "

Trent was quivering under her grasp, unaware of the raw power that Tifa possessed, until now.

"Y-You're dangerous, too…"

"You're  _damn_  right, I am."

The scrawny man opened and closed his mouth stupidly for a moment, terrified to look Tifa in the eyes. "They'll… They'll kill me… They'll kill you, and they'll kill me too…"

Tifa snapped. With a cry, she pulled her fist back and let it crash into the brick wall beside Trent's head, leaving a large enough hole that you could easily see into the empty neighboring room.

"Take your tickets," she spat, throwing the crumpled up mess in his face. "And get the hell out of here."

He opened his mouth to protest, his eyes wide and tearful and his face pale from fear.

"Listen to me," Tifa hissed, looking straight into Trent's eyes. Her fiery stare could kill a man; her voice was poison in his ears. "If you  _ever_ come around us again… If I ever see you… I  _will not_ hesitate to kill you. Do you understand? Don't fear them any longer. Fear me." His lips made no sound, but the pure terror in his eyes told her that he understood. "Leave," she commanded.

He scrambled to his feet and took off, throwing the door open and running full-speed out into the hall, never once looking back. Tifa stood there for a moment, her entire nervous system in shock and her mind completely absent. She turned to look at the blonde man who was approaching her, arms open and eyes sympathetic. Her voice cracked when she called his name uncertainly, tears streaming freely down her reddened cheeks and quivering lips.

" _Cloud?"_

• **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

It was late. The kids had been put to bed hours ago, having passed out on the ride home and been carried inside by Cloud and Barret. Once they were safely tucked in, Cloud and Tifa had quietly told Barret the information they had learned. It had cost the large man every bit of his willpower not to explode on the spot. Some phone calls later, and Reeve, Yuffie, and Cid had been notified of the planned attack on Edge. Barret had rubbed his eyes after a while, showing Tifa an exhausted side to him that she had always felt uncomfortable seeing emerge from his fiery form. "Take my bed," she had offered, waving off his questions concerning her comfort. She knew Marlene had a penchant for kicking her legs in her sleep, and her bed was much too small for Barret to actually get any rest in, again.

Tifa sighed. They hadn't told the kids, despite their promises to be more honest with them.  _Maybe tomorrow,_ she rationalized. They'd have to be told eventually, because they'd have to evacuate. Still, she couldn't bring herself to tell them while they were wide-eyed and smiling at the Gold Saucer, their expressions playful and childish for the first time in what seemed like forever.

She heard footsteps behind her, softer than the usual clunk of boots that she was used to hearing, but she didn't take her eyes away from the lightly-smattering rain outside the window.

"You should sleep," a masculine voice gently commanded. He placed a hand on each of her shoulders, squeezing lightly. "You need your rest if you're going to be in top form."

Tifa frowned. He was just as worried as she was. Gone were sweet words of "don't worry" and "it's okay". He was instructing her for battle; preparing her. She knew it.

"I'm not ready for this," Tifa admitted. "I'm tired of fighting…" Her frown deepened, the image of Trent appearing clear in her mind. "I'm tired of loss." Yes, she was always losing something. If it wasn't a battle, it was someone close to her. If it wasn't precious moments gone too soon, it was the excitement of making a new friend. In dark moments like this, she wondered if she'd eventually lose everything she cared about. It's not like it hadn't happened before, but this time, she didn't know if she could recover.

"…Me too," Cloud murmured, wrapping his arms loosely around Tifa's shoulders. "But, the way I look at it, we have two options." Tifa stayed quiet, so Cloud continued. "We can do our usual dance of worry and sorrow, fearing the worst and expecting it, as well. Or… We can do what we do best. Prepare for the inevitable. Fight with all our might, and band together. We can be strong for each other. And we can finally put an end to this." Cloud circled around Tifa, tilting her chin up to face him. "Which do you want to do?" he questioned gently.

Tifa laughed quietly – one of those laughs that are dry and empty of humor, before shyly averting her gaze. "The answer seems obvious, when you put it that way." She slowly smiled at the blonde. She was proud of him. He had come such a long way, even when she seemed to be regressing. He was coming out of his shell, learning how to smile, and staying strong as the leader she always knew he was.

He smiled back at her, allowing his hand to drop from her chin and choosing to fold her hands into his, instead. "Besides… Your birthday is in a few days. We have a party to prepare for."

Tifa blinked, her eyes growing wide with disbelief. "Are you kidding me?" She shook her head. "We can't be throwing a party under these conditions. It's ridiculous… It's a waste of time."

"It's  _not_ waste of time."

She shook her head again, more slowly this time. "I'd feel guilty… And selfish… And stupid."

"But you're none of those things."

"I should spend my time training over the next few days. Prepare the bar in case of a direct attack. Get the kids ready to evacuate."

"We can do all of those things and still have your party, Teef. I won't let you down."

Tifa smiled at him wanly. She knew he wouldn't let her down, but it just felt  _wrong_ at this point.

Cloud unraveled his hands from hers and reached up to squeeze her shoulders again, a little tighter this time. "Tifa… I need this."

Tifa blinked again, surprised. "The party?"

"Yeah. I just…" He shook his head. "I'm looking forward to it. All of us being happy together.  _You_  being happy. Even if it's just for one night…" He shook his head again, embarrassed. "…Maybe I'm being irrational."

"No!" Tifa assured him. "But… I thought you didn't like the party idea, anyway…"

His lips curved up into a slight smile. "…I guess I've had so much fun over the past few days, that… I've changed my mind." He let his fingers trail down Tifa's arms, stopping at her hands again. "Please… Let's forget about this for a while. Let's just focus on the good that happened today." He nodded his head towards the stairwell behind them. "Let's go to sleep."

She couldn't deny him, even if she wanted to. Not that she ever would. They ended up gently embraced in Cloud's small bed, no more words uttered about good things, or bad, for quite a while. When Tifa thought Cloud might have fallen asleep, he quietly whispered into the darkness.

"I had fun today."

Tifa smiled at the absurdity of his statement; despite everything bad that had happened, Cloud assured her that he had, indeed, enjoyed his time with her that day. The barmaid sighed, snuggling up closer to his chest. It was an act that was quickly becoming familiar and longed for, something that gave her a concoction of confusing and warm feelings. Their conversation in the gondola surfaced to the forefront of her mind, the image of bright fireworks dancing off Cloud's smiling face situated in the focus on her consciousness. When she was with him like this, even the strongest of her fears seemed to melt away. Maybe it  _would_  all be okay… After all, they had made it through worse things before… Hadn't they?

"Me too," she finally whispered back.

"Good night, Teef."

"Good night, Cloud."

• **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

Morning came far too quickly, and Tifa awoke to Cloud gently stroking her hair. "Time to wake up, Teef." She blinked several times, realizing that she had a light headache. It was early; the sun was only just beginning to rise.

Tifa went through her usual morning routine, and when Cloud approached her and asked her to take a ride with him before opening the bar, she agreed without question. She had a feeling that he had something important planned.

She had become accustomed to riding peacefully on the back of his bike, her arms wrapped around his waist protectively, her chest leaning against his back easily. Cloud never objected, but rather, would stroke her hands from time to time, riding the curves of the roads effortlessly as he touched her in gentle, innocent ways.

He eventually pulled them into a remote field; nothing was around, no monsters seen for at least a few miles, and Tifa was unsure of what Cloud was doing. She felt her heartbeat quicken as she pondered what he could possibly want with her out here, in this remote location, early in the morning.

"Tifa…" He uttered her name softly as he cut off the ignition. "You told me you felt like you're becoming weaker than you used to be."

She nodded silently behind him, her fingers clutching at the leather seat beneath her.

"Let's put it to the test."

"Huh?" she uttered, surprised.

"I brought you out here to train," he replied. "Get your gloves on and get ready."

There was that authoritive voice she remembered. Fast flashbacks of him commanding her in battle two years prior entered her mind. Gone was the sweet, gentle Cloud she had known minutes prior, and when he looked into her eyes with that serious look he always seemed to carry, she knew that he meant business. Quickly, she slid off the back of the bike, grabbing her fighting gloves from her pocket and slowly pulling them on. She eyed Cloud the whole time, watching him pull the largest blade of his First Tsurugi from the holsters on Fenrir. They caught each other's gaze for a moment, Tifa's eyes becoming a bit wild as she felt her heart rate increase, Cloud's narrowing, fully calm and in control. He suddenly jumped backwards from her, flipping the blade of his sword towards its blunt side so that Tifa wouldn't get sliced from any of his blows. Cloud nodded.

"Come at me."

She did. Swifter than a wild coeurl, she charged at Cloud, but her first strike landed hard against the side of Cloud's blade. He dodged her easily; she was fast, but he was much faster. He spun his sword around and took a swipe at Tifa's legs, and she caught his intentions just in time, jumping over the blade. She responded with a series of high kicks and punches, but Cloud blocked each of them. He spun his sword around again, and it caught her in the back, knocking the wind out of her.

"Come on, give it your all!" he commanded.

Tifa yelled out a battle cry, flipping over him and attempting to throw his footing off-balance, but she failed. She whirled around him again, avoiding the quick swings of his blade, and managed to successfully suplex him, but he brushed it off easily, rolling over and throwing a blade beam at her. Tifa juked out of the way, once again just in time, and with another cry, ran up his sword and dolphin kicked off of his face.

It hit. Cloud purposefully stuck his blade in the ground, and Tifa just stood there, absolutely dumbfounded. She felt like she was paralyzed, until Cloud gently touched his face and examined the trickle of blood dripping down the palm of his glove.

"O-Oh my gods!" Tifa panicked, rushing towards him. "Oh, Cloud, are you okay?!"

"I'm fine," he chuckled, shaking his head.

"Cloud, I'm so sorry!" Tifa cried. "H-Here, let me cure you!"

"It's okay, Teef, really," Cloud assured her, his voice calm and steady. She ignored him, pressing her hand directly to his face and allowing the healing green glow of the materia to pass over his skin. "You got me," he stated, his expression somewhat amused.

"It doesn't hurt?"

"Oh, it stings, but I'll be fine."

"Cloud, I'm really sorr-"

" _Tifa…"_ he cut her off, placing his gloved hand on top of her own. "Look at me." She did, noting the way the wound had already almost fully healed, and taking a deep breath. "You win. Fair and square."

"Cloud, I don't like this. I never want to hurt you like this again…"

"Teef…" He placed his clean hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently. "It's called sparring. It's okay, I promise. And look… If you can beat me, you can beat anyone. So take this as an opportunity to see how strong you really are. There's not a hint of weakness inside of you. All is see is strength. And… Admittedly, it's a little bit intimidating."

Tifa threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "I still don't want to ever fight you again. It just doesn't feel right."

"Then we'll train together in different ways. But for now, I want you to see how strong you really are. You've never lost it – that fire burning within you. You just need to believe in yourself. Like I believe in you."

Tifa pulled back, looking at his now fully-healed face. "I could say the same thing about you…"

"Don't worry about me."

Tifa frowned. "Does it still hurt?"

"I feel better than ever." Cloud turned and picked up his sword, placing his free hand on the small of Tifa's back and guiding her back to Fenrir. "Come on. Let's go home."

• **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

"Plastic cups?" Marlene looked up at Tifa, her eyebrows knit in confusion. "Why don't we just use the glasses? Plastic is wasteful."

The brunette smiled, patting the young girl on her head. "Plastic works better for the type of game we're going to play, Marlene. Don't worry. We'll recycle them." Even the littlest things were beginning to underline just how unordinary this party was going to be.

Yes, despite everything, they were still planning the party. Everyone had already been invited, another day had passed, and the adults still hadn't told the children the news. Tifa had opted to take the kids shopping with her after school. Marlene, inquisitive as ever, had asked where Cloud's deliveries were that morning. "Just a few local towns; mostly around Kalm," she had lied. He was actually actively patrolling the streets of Edge, keeping a lookout for any unusual activity. He had texted Tifa on several occasions throughout the day, reporting nothing strange or out of the ordinary.

"I think we have everything we need. Let's get out of here," Tifa suggested to Marlene and Denzel. They paid and walked back to the bar, all in decent spirits, though Tifa was quieter than usual.

Barret greeted them when they returned home, patting Marlene on the head as she passed by him to get a snack from the kitchen. "Tifa, come'ere," he murmured, jerking his head.

"Yeah?"

"Take a look at that kid over there."

A rather young-looking child was sitting in a corner, laying his head down. His clothes looked ripped and dirty.

"I don't know who that is, but he refuses to talk to me. Maybe I'm too big and scary?"

Tifa smiled, taking the hint and grabbing a fresh glass of water from the kitchen before approaching the young boy.

"Excuse me," she said politely, her voice gentle. "I saw you sitting over here, and I thought you might be thirsty. Would you like a glass of water?"

The child finally lifted his head and nodded, taking the glass with both of his small hands. He drank most of it before setting it back down on the table.

"Where are your parents?" Tifa inquired in her same, gentle voice.

"Gone," the boy stated plainly.

Tifa frowned deeply. "Are you all alone?"

The child shook his head and pointed at the bar. "Sissy's here."

A teenage girl who looked to be roughly seventeen or eighteen years old was sitting at the bar, a couple of shot glasses laid out before her. She also looked a bit unkempt, though she seemed to be in a better condition than her little brother. Tifa's frown deepened even more. "Why don't we go over there and talk to her?" she suggested.

Tifa led the child by the hand and lifted him to sit on the barstool beside his sibling. "I'm Tifa," she greeted the younger girl, extending her hand. The young lady eyed the barmaid, obviously a bit drunk, and lazily accepted Tifa's handshake. "Jamie," she responded.

"Say, Jamie… Your little brother looks like he needs a fresh set of clothes, and he seemed really thirsty… Are you two okay?"

"Okayyy?" she drawled, scoffing. "We're always  _okay_. Nothing can hurt me, not anymore. Not since our parents died. 'Course, that was only a day or two ago." She downed one of the shots that were in front of her. "Or was it longer than that? I've  _totally_ lost track of time." Tifa frowned again as she pulled her little barstool out from behind the bar. "What happened?" she asked as she sat down.

"No idea," Jamie replied, shrugging her shoulders dejectedly. "They went out for a ride, and they never came home."

"A ride?" Tifa prodded.

Jamie nodded. "Daddy loved his motorcycle."

Tifa's eyes grew wide, and her heart began to hammer in her chest. "Jamie… If you don't mind me asking…" She took a deep breath, trying to calm her already-frazzled nerves. "What did your parents look like?"

Jamie reached for another shot, and downed it quickly. "Daddy had bright blonde hair. Kinda spiky. And blue eyes. And Mom…" Jamie squinted at the barmaid. "…Well, she looked a little bit like you."

"…Thank you," Tifa murmured, sliding off of her barstool and trying not to hyperventilate. She rushed upstairs to the bathroom and immediately threw up. Her head was swimming by the time she finished.

_Those people… Those people_ died  _because of us…_

Tifa shook her head and turned on the sink to splash some cool water on her face.

_Not again… Not again not again not again…_

_No more lives lost… No more…_

She leaned over the sink and took some time to regain some composure. She  _had_  to help those kids. Jamie obviously wasn't able to properly care for the younger child, and she seemed like she needed some help herself. Tifa knew that she could put them up for a while; she would explain it to Cloud, and he would certainly understand. She nodded to herself, wringing her hands and heading back down the stairs. But, they were gone.

She ran outside to look for them, even after Barret told her they had left some time ago. She ignored him when he asked her if she was okay; she also ignored his comments about her looking pale and taking a long time in the bathroom. She searched the bustling streets for a long time. Too long of a time, apparently, because Marlene and Denzel came looking for her. They had concerned looks on their faces, and when they asked her what was going on, Tifa just said that she really wanted to give those kids a change of clothes. It was a partial truth.

She kept quiet the rest of the afternoon. When Cloud came home for dinner, she still didn't speak much, and she knew that he could tell something was wrong. The kids picked up on it, too. "I guess I'm just nervous about the party," Tifa laughed it off. "Cloud's nerves are rubbing off on me." Marlene giggled, but Denzel frowned.

"Tifa… You would tell us if something bad is going on, right?"

The barmaid set her fork down and sighed. "Honey… Sometimes it's better to just let the adults handle certain things…"

"So there  _is_ still something bad going on! I knew it!" He let his silverware clatter on his plate as well. "Tell me."

Everyone was silent; Tifa looked at him, somewhat taken aback. "Tell me! I want to know!"

"Denzel," Cloud interjected, his voice quiet, yet commanding.

"You promised you wouldn't hide the truth from me anymore," he responded. "You promised."

Cloud set his own utensils down and dropped his head. "You're right, Denzel. I've let you down."

Denzel shook his head. "I don't want to be treated like a kid anymore. Even though I still feel like a kid… I get scared and I don't understand a lot of things… But I've also seen a lot of things that kids my age aren't supposed to see. I know what sort of bad things can happen to people. I'd rather be prepared to handle whatever bad stuff comes my way, instead of being in the dark about it."

Cloud sighed, pushing his plate out of the way and rubbing his forehead. Marlene and Barret were silent, and Tifa watched him, her appetite lost.

"Just like Reeve did to me…" he murmured to himself. "You're right, Denzel. I messed up. And so did Tifa and Barret. You kids are mature enough to handle the truth." He glanced up at Tifa, his expression solemn. "Teef," he murmured, a quiet request for help. She nodded, and finally, they explained everything to the children.

The rest of the night was rather quiet and solemn. The kids went to bed early without expressing any complaints. Barret went to bed early as well, his features painted with years of fatigue as he gave Marlene and Denzel goodnight hugs. "Kids," Cloud announced as he hovered in the children's doorway. "…You two make sure to get some good sleep tonight." Denzel and Marlene nodded and smiled weakly at him. Cloud sighed, but then he lifted his head and smiled, chuckling quietly to himself. "There's nothing to be afraid of," he said. "Barret, Tifa, and I will take care of you. And we have friends that can help us, too."

Tifa nodded. "He's right. As long as we're here, nothing will hurt you. We learned our lesson once… Right, Cloud?" The blonde crossed his arms and nodded, and Denzel smiled more genuinely.

"I know," the young boy said.

A few hugs and kisses later, and the kids were put to bed. Cloud and Tifa ended up exactly how they had been for the past few nights – quietly cuddled up in Cloud's small bed. Tifa breathed in the scent of him, her face pressed gently against his t-shirt. She was exhausted, and in his arms, she began to drift off quickly. Vaguely, she worried that Cloud might have more nightmares as they slept, but the thoughts were too far away from her consciousness for them to register.

"Teef?" Cloud eventually murmured into the darkness. Tifa awakened, as she was attuned to his quiet voice and his minimal movements. He hadn't fallen asleep yet.

"Yeah?"

He stilled, his breath hitching and then quietly exhaling. "…Good night."

Tifa thought he might have wanted to say something else, but she accepted his words for what they were. "Good night, Cloud," she murmured sweetly, already drifting off again. She smiled when she felt his lips press gently against the crown of her head.

• **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

The next few days had passed by quickly, and Tifa had somehow found it in herself to feel somewhat excited for her birthday. She took a moment to look over herself in the mirror, turning her body to view it from different angles. She had gotten so used to wearing the same aprons and armor and other gear fit for efficiency that she had forgotten how fashionable she could be. Her tight, light blue jeans were worn and faded, but they accentuated her hips in a surprising way. Her old, red, leather boots looked as cool as ever, and she wondered why she never bothered to wear them anymore. Her tight, white tank top was a staple – something she had always loved for its comfort and stylishness. She had even pulled her old suspenders out of the closet, something she used to wear simply to hold her skirts up, but she decided that she just liked how they looked on her. Perhaps the most bewildering aspects of her outfit were her light, carefully applied makeup and her high, sleek ponytail. She blushed a little after realizing that she was being quite girlish. Dressing up for her own birthday party… How juvenile of her.

Marlene seemed to think she looked great, though. "Wow, Tifa!" she gasped. "You look so pretty!"

"Thank you, Marlene," she replied, smiling shyly.

"Can you help me pull my hair up like yours, too?"

Tifa giggled and nodded, ushering the little girl into her room where she could tie up her hair. After some quick brushing and a few ties and pins later, Marlene vaguely resembled her adopted mother. It made Tifa happy.

"Can we do my makeup, too?"

"Maybe when you're older," the brunette responded gently. Marlene pouted, and Tifa instantly relented. "Alright… Maybe just a little lip gloss would be okay…" Marlene had a way of making Tifa give in to her cuteness.

Once the two of them came downstairs, they found Cloud and Denzel sitting at a table, looking over some sort of old manual concerning modifying motorcycles. They looked content in each other's presence. "Happy birthday, Tifa!" Denzel greeted Tifa.

"Thank you, Denzel," she replied, her eyes darting to Cloud's. He smiled shyly and mumbled "happy birthday" before averting his gaze and greeting Marlene.

"Barret's in the kitchen," he said, answering Tifa's question before she asked it. She noticed his eyes trace over her entire form, his gaze lingering on hers for a moment, before burying his nose back in the manual. Tifa blushed lightly and made to go find Barret in the kitchen while Marlene seated herself beside Cloud.

"Morning!" she called to Barret, her voice chipper.

"M-Mornin'…" he responded hastily as he stirred a bowl of something almost violently.

"Oh… My…" Tifa murmured, taking in the sight before her. Bowls, cups, and utensils were strewn everywhere, some sort of batter dripping off of everything and onto the floor. Various ingredients were spread across the countertop, little puddles of berry juices and milk spattering the surface. Somehow, he had managed to spill chocolate syrup all over the sink.

"Everything okay in here?" she asked, something between concern and humor lacing her tone.

"Everything's fine, just fine!" he retorted. Tifa could tell he was frustrated. "Don't worry 'bout nothin' in here! Now go sit down and let me finish cooking breakfast!"

Tifa stepped closer, leaning her hand against a clean part of the counter. "But you haven't told me 'happy birthday' yet!" She smiled, and Barret relaxed his shoulders visibly and huffed.

"Happy birthday, Tifa," he said, looking at her purposely and finally breaking into a laugh after she began to giggle.

"Here, let me help," she offered, scooting closer and gently taking the spoon from Barret's hand. "You were trying to make… Pancakes?"

"Heh, yeah," he laughed. "Blueberry and chocolate chip pancakes, for your birthday. Only thing is, I forgot how bad I am in the kitchen!" he laughed again. "Cloud and Denzel took one look at me and decided to leave me to it."

"That was probably in their best interest," she teased.

Barret chuckled. "Let me at least clean up the mess I made."

The two of them worked in tandem for a little while; Barret cleaned up every drip of batter and chocolate syrup, and Tifa managed to whip up a nice batter using the ingredients he had laid out. "Sorry you ended up cooking my birthday breakfast for ya…" Barret apologized once he had finished.

"Don't sweat it," she assuaged. "It's the thought that counts, and it was very nice of you." She smiled gently. "Why don't you go join the others? Once I get these cooked up, they'll be ready to eat."

"You're a genius in the kitchen, Tifa. Always have been," Barret remarked before leaving out of the room. Tifa smiled to herself. She wasn't sure if she was a  _genius_ at anything, but supposed that she had become a pretty decent cook over the years.

Cloud poked his head in a moment later. "Smells good," he said casually, sauntering up beside the brunette. "Need any help?"

"I think I've got it under control," Tifa responded. "But feel free to stay and keep me company."

Cloud quirked the corner of his mouth up, and leaned back against the counter, arms crossed and watching Tifa's work intently. "Are you excited for tonight?" he asked her.

She frowned, flipping a pancake artfully in the pan. "I feel like I should be… And maybe I am, a little bit… But..." She shook her head.

"But what?"

"…It just doesn't feel right, Cloud. Knowing what's going to happen, I…" She trailed off, lost for words as she transferred her pancake onto the stack of the others.

"Don't worry about that, Teef," Cloud soothed her. "We'll worry about that time when it comes, alright? I just want you to have a good day. Besides… I think I'm a little bit excited, too."

"Really?" Tifa asked, surprised.

"I think so. As long as you and the kids have fun, then I'll be okay."

"…I'm glad." She smiled and began cooking another pancake, stealing a glance at him. He blushed and looked away from her shyly. Tifa cocked her head to one side, too absorbed in her work to notice the quickening of her pulse. "What is it?" she asked.

He took a moment to respond. "Your hair…" he mumbled.

"What?"

"Your… Hair. And your clothes. And… You're wearing makeup?" The last bit came out as more of a question than a statement, and Tifa blushed lightly as well.

"Y-Yeah…"

Cloud dropped his arms and planted them on the counter behind him, squeezing the lip of the metal surface. "You look…" He shook his head, choosing instead to make himself busy by grabbing a jug of milk from the fridge. "I'll get everyone something to drink."

Tifa stopped prodding at her pancake, and finally noticed that her heart was beating quickly in her chest. "Cloud…" He paused near the doorway, avoiding looking at her. "'I look' what?"

His eyes looked everywhere but hers, and his face turned redder. He seemed like he was having trouble speaking. "Cute…" he finally murmured. "…H-Happy birthday," was the only other thing he managed to mutter before retreating to the front of the bar. Tifa's hand fluttered up to her reddening cheek, completely forgetting about the sizzling pancake in the pan.

… _Cute?_

Maybe he was right… Tomorrow's worries be damned. This was a night meant for celebration.

• **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

Breakfast had been delicious and enjoyable, and everyone had pitched in to get the bar ready. Tifa had to rush the kids off to school, despite their protesting that they wanted to help her bus tables for the day. "The three of us grownups have it under control," she had told them. "You two can help me get ready for the party after you get home and finish your homework. Now go!" She had kissed both of them on the forehead and returned to the kitchen to whip up some quick pasta to serve her customers while Cloud and Barret had flipped all of the chairs off of the tables. She had mused over the comment Cloud had made to her the whole time, unable to contain her smile.

The lunch rush had passed by easily with Cloud and Barret's help. Business had streamed in steadily and dipped later in the afternoon. By the time the kids came home, Tifa was down to serving only a few tables. She finished up prepping dinner and snacks for the party while Marlene and Denzel did their homework and Barret tended to the last few customers. Cloud was sitting at his regular seat at the bar, sipping on a short glass of whiskey.

"Starting the party without me?" she teased him.

He chuckled lightly. "Just relaxing for a moment. Take a break with me."

Tifa decided that taking a break sounded nice, and she sat on her little stool behind the bar. Cloud silently offered her his drink, and she laughed quietly. "I'm still on the clock."

"Suit yourself," he said, smiling.

She smirked and relented, her fingers ghosting over Cloud's as she took the glass from his hand.

"That easy to change your mind?" He propped his cheek against his hand, his eyes mischievous. Tifa felt herself blush as she took a short swig of his drink.

"You can be very persuasive, when you want to be."

"Oh?"

"Mm-hmm," she responded, feigning casualness.

"And you can be very surprising."

She shrugged. "Sometimes it's good to keep people guessing."

"Really?" He quirked an eyebrow.

She blushed a little harder, and took another drink. "Maybe."

Cloud smiled again, cuter and softer this time, and took his drink back from Tifa's hands. "Well, I'm just glad to see you in good spirits." He looked into her eyes a little too seriously. "I know how hard you're trying for everyone."

Tifa shook her head. "Not just for everyone else. For myself, too. And I know you're trying hard as well. You have no idea how much it means to me."

Cloud took a short drink. "At this point, I don't feel like I'm trying anymore. But, not in a bad way. I'm just…  _here_."

"Really?" Tifa asked, her eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Mm-hmm. With all of the ups and downs we've had recently… It's getting a little too hard for me to keep hanging on to all of these negative feelings and fears, when they keep getting me nowhere." Cloud shrugged, his eyes earnest. "I just want to be happy."

"I get that…" Tifa admitted, her eyes downcast. She perked back up immediately, though, choosing to tease Cloud. "So what you're saying, is… You wanna let loose?"

Cloud shrugged again. "Guess I can't knock it 'til I try it."

Tifa laughed, warm and hearty. " _Cloud Strife,_ the last person I would ever expect to agree to such a thing, wants to let loose." She shook her head. "So tonight, you're gonna live for the party, huh?"

He shrugged once more. "'Suppose so."

• **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

Music wasn't something that accompanied the bar very frequently. Tifa would sometimes turn on the radio to a very quiet volume when she was working alone or when the customers seemed like they needed some background noise, but she usually just keep the lull of the television on the same news station most of the time. Cloud liked things quiet – very, very quiet, and the kids' taste in music wasn't quite her cup of tea. So, Tifa was quite taken aback when Cloud deposited a bag of old cassette tapes on the floor in front of the stereo.

"What's that?" she questioned, curious.

"I bought them off a guy a while ago, after making a delivery out in Kalm…" He rifled through the contents, pausing when he found something that seemed to catch his interest. "There's some good stuff in here," he stated plainly, glancing up at Tifa. She was looking at him strangely. "What?"

"…I didn't even know you listened to music," she admitted.

Cloud smiled shyly. "Well, I like classical, just like you. And there's some old rock bands that I used to listen to as a kid that I still like. But this," he said, holding up a worn-looking  _Lucid Acropolis_  tape, "seems like the perfect party music." He put the tape in the stereo player and rewound it. "I think you'll like this."

The first track began with a hypnotic beat and an almost haunting melody; Tifa liked it, but she shook her head, still unable to process the fact that Cloud enjoyed music like this.

"I listened to this sometimes when I was training to become SOLDIER," Cloud informed her, seemingly reading her mind. "Zack liked a lot of rock music, but he also secretly enjoyed this kind of stuff. He didn't tell very many people about it." He clicked over to track two, which picked up in pace, and definitely set the proper atmosphere for a party of their sort. It was strong and fun, but somehow decidedly dark and a bit depressive, as well. Tifa realized that it fit them so well, whether she wanted to admit that, or not.

"I do like it," she said, smiling and clicking to the next track, curious to listen further. Cloud chuckled quietly as the next song began to play. "What is it?" Tifa inquired.

"This was Zack's favorite."

"Oh!" Tifa fumbled with the stereo, trying to click to the next song as quickly as she could.

"It's okay," he assured her, gently pulling her hand away from the radio. "It doesn't make me feel sad to hear it. Actually, it kinda makes me happy. We had some good times together, listening to this song."

Tifa smiled, taking Cloud's other hand into hers. With a quiet giggle, she gently tugged at his hands, pulling them back-and-forth to the beat of the song. Cloud quirked an eyebrow.

"I don't dance."

"Me neither," Tifa teased, continuing her movements and bouncing just slightly on the balls of her feet.

Small footsteps quickly scuffled towards the pair in the living area. "Tifaaa! Where do you want me to put-" Marlene stopped in her tracks at the sight of the two of them, her eyes wide. "Never mind!" she yelled, and ran away giggling. Tifa blushed, laughing as well.

"Let's finish getting everything ready," she suggested, motioning her head towards the bar area.

Cloud nodded, his cheeks red.

• **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

It was a perfect night. The air was warm and breezy, and the faintest scent of flowers floated in to Edge from the fields outside of the city. It was one of those nights where teenagers would slip away from their homes and get into trouble with their friends; one of those nights where people would roast marshmallows over a fire and talk about silly things like the meaning of life or how the universe was created. Both were things that Cloud and Tifa never really got the chance to do as kids.

The guests had begun to come to the bar around 7:00 pm. Surprisingly, Reno and Rude were the first two to show up. Cloud begrudgingly greeted them at the door, before Reno had the chance to literally bust his way in. "Happy birthday, Tifa!" he exclaimed, winking at Cloud as he walked past him. Rude politely greeted Tifa as well, although he was much quieter. "Rule number one," Reno said as he helped himself to a beer that Tifa had served in a bucket of ice, "is no talking about Deepground. I don't wanna hear it, and I know you two want to bitch about it. You talk about it, I leave."

"What a shame," Cloud muttered sarcastically.

"Rule number two," Reno continued, completely ignoring Cloud, "is no bitching about  _anything._ I'm here to take a night off, so if you've got any complaining to do, take it up with someone else."

"We'll be sure to keep that in mind, Reno," Tifa laughed, totally unsurprised by the WRO member's callousness.

Yuffie was the next person to show up, with Cait Sith at her heels. She had a large bottle of liquor in her hand and all but attacked Tifa with a hug. "I tried to call Vincent, but he never responded. He was always a party pooper anyway."

"Nanaki sends his regards," the little robotic cat piped up. "He says he'd like you to come visit him sometime, lass. You and Cloud both."

Cid and Shera were the last to arrive, and everyone else had comfortably settled in by that point. Conversational background noise filled the bar as everyone had their first drinks and complimented Tifa's cooking. Marlene and Denzel sneaked off to the kitchen, both of them giggling. Tifa peered over, knowing they were up to something.

"Alright everyone, it's time to wish Tifa a happy birthday!" the little girl yelled, helping Denzel carry a large cake into the bar area. Tifa gasped.

"How did you guys manage to keep that a secret?" she asked, genuinely surprised.

"Can't tell you," Marlene teased. Tifa looked at Cloud and smiled knowingly. "Beats me," he said, shrugging.

Denzel lit her several candles as everyone else gathered around. "Alright Tifa, you gotta make a birthday wish!" Marlene ordered. She smiled, shyly basking in her moment. As she was surrounded by her friends and her family, all smiling at her and celebrating her very existence on this planet, Tifa felt her heart fill up with joy.

_A birthday wish…_ she mused.  _Of course, there's lots of things I'd wish for…_

She looked at Cloud, who was smiling gently, the corners of his eyes crinkling up in just the right way. He nodded, encouraging her.

_But if I could just have one wish…_

Everyone cheered as she blew out the candles, but the only person she really took notice of was the shy young man who clapped and smiled like it was his own birthday he was celebrating.

• **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

The party was finally in full swing, and by Cid's suggestion, a game of poker was started. Everyone bet single-gil pieces, including Marlene and Denzel, who had been given some change out of the cash register. Tifa, Cloud, Barret, and Cid took time to teach the children the basic rules of playing, so that they could be included. Marlene became slightly frustrated with the complexity of the rules, but Denzel caught on pretty quickly as he studied Cloud's instructions seriously. After a couple of practice rounds, the kids decided to move onto something they were more adept at, which turned into a rather serious game of chess. The adults continued to play their game for a while, most of them taking sips of liquor or beer as time went on. Shera eventually folded out of the game and watched the kids play with interest; she seemed impressed by their proficiency.

After a few more rounds, Tifa found her little glass of house whiskey almost empty. A slight, warm buzz was creeping up her legs and into her stomach. She looked at her current hand with satisfaction, a slight smirk threatening to pull at the corner of her lips, which must have turned into some sort of blatantly confident expression without her realizing it.

"What was that?" came a slightly teasing voice. She felt eyes on her, and looked up to Cloud, who was smirking ever-so-slightly.

"What was what?" she replied innocently.

"That look. What was that?"

Tifa shrugged, smiling. "I have good cards."

Cloud eyed her for a second longer, before taking a long swig of his drink. "I think you're bluffing."

"Yeah, she's full of it," Cid agreed, raising his bet.

Barret shook his head, folding his hand along with the rest of the players.

Tifa laid down her hand, a flush, and giggled. "Look who's bluffing now," she teased, leaning over and raking in the gil pieces from the middle of the table.

"She got ya, Spiky," Barret chuckled heartily, his laughter only becoming more boisterous after Cid left the table in a huff to go smoke a cigarette.

Cloud scratched the back of his neck embarrassedly, his cheeks flushing the palest shade of pink. "I guess she did."

The game continued like that for some time, after cigarettes were smoked and drinks were refilled. Marlene and Denzel were still very involved in their battle of wits; Denzel had won, and Marlene had heatedly declared a rematch.

"The hell are you grinning at?" Cid questioned Yuffie sometime later, eyeing the young ninja girl with suspicion.

"Nothing! I'm not grinning!" she retorted, attempting to hide her toothy smile behind her hand of cards.

Cid scratched his chin thoughtfully. "I fold."

A chorus of "fold" and "me too" followed after him.

"Wha-? I'm bluffing!  _Bluffing!_  Can't you tell?" Yuffie pleaded, and everyone at the table gave her a pointed look. Her face turned red with irritation, or perhaps it was from the dwindling contents of the strawberry-kiwi vodka bottle that was seated between her thighs. "Come on, really?!" she huffed, displaying her cards. A full house.

"You have to practice being more subtle," Cloud stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh, what do  _you_  know about being subtle, Cloud? You're an open book, and I can read every hand you've got." The young woman took another swig of her vodka. " _Every_ hand."

Tifa giggled quietly at her less-than-sober friend.  _An open book, huh?_ she thought. Cloud's face was as neutral as they come as he emptied a palm full of materia from his pocket.

"H-HEY!" the ninja sputtered, quickly standing from her chair and knocking her bottle in the floor. Thankfully, it had a screw-top lid. "That's MY materia!" She swiped at Cloud's hand unsuccessfully, throwing herself slightly off-balance as she did so. Tifa let another quiet giggle escape as everyone else watched on with amused expressions.

"Ask nicely," Cloud instructed, his voice void of emotion.

Yuffie practically growled at him and stamped her foot down childishly. "FINE. Will. You. Give. Me. Back. My. Materia.  _Please._ " She emphasized each word angrily, and Cloud dropped a single materia into Yuffie's hand.

"That's for the first time you stole my materia two years ago." He dropped another. "That's for the second time." He dropped another one. "That's for the  _third_ time. Do I need to keep going?"

"No!" she spat.

He dropped the rest of the magical orbs into her hands. "Good. Glad we finally had this talk."

"Whatever, Cloud! You're such a jerk!" Yuffie stormed over to the other side of the table, looking at Tifa angrily as she finally burst out laughing. "It's not funny, Tifa! Don't egg him on! Come on," she declared, pulling the barmaid up by the arm. "Take a shot with me, birthday girl. I need a drink after dealing with him."

As if Yuffie really  _needed_ anything else to drink at the moment, but Tifa's usual maternal demeanor towards the girl was weakened by the prospect of letting loose with a friend. "I guess I have no choice," Tifa giggled again, absolutely giddy. Or perhaps it wasn't all that funny; maybe it was just the previous shots of liquor kicking in. She caught Cloud's eyes as she followed behind Yuffie, and felt her heart skip a beat when he quirked the corner of his mouth up mischievously. Nobody else had seemed to notice.

"Birthday girl's choice," Yuffie said, looking over all the bottles behind the bar. "Whatcha want?"

Tifa handed the younger girl the bottle of whiskey she had already drank from, and Yuffie made a weird face. "You always drink that nasty stuff."

"It's not nasty, Yuffie. It's what I like."

"It's gross."

"But I made it myself."

"So? Still gross."

Tifa scowled at her, and Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Just kidding, just kidding. Don't get your panties in a bunch." She popped the top off of the bottle, pouring two hearty shots. "You know you're gonna need them looking nice for later, anyway."

"What?"

"Your panties."

" _Yuffie!"_ Tifa's eyes darted immediately to Cloud, worried that he might have heard the ninja's comment over the lull of conversation and the radio. He drank casually from his bottle of beer, seemingly oblivious to their conversation.

"Drink up!" Yuffie grinned, ignoring Tifa's obvious fluster at her comment. The barmaid opted to down her shot, and considered immediately pouring herself another. Yuffie scrunched her face up in disgust.

"Blegh! I'm going back to the fruity stuff I brought."

_The stuff that's almost gone?_ Tifa thought, willing the heat in her cheeks to leave her face.

"Enjoy," she drawled. The barmaid did pour another shot, and the burn of embarrassment in her cheeks was quickly replaced with a different sort of burn. So what if she was already on her way to becoming more drunk than she had been in quite a long time? It was her birthday. It was a celebration, and the warm liquor was starting to take the edge off of a lot of deeply-buried feelings. She was starting to feel  _pretty damn good._

• **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

"You say that name  _one more time,_ and I'll kill ya," Barret commented pointedly before throwing down a King of Hearts.

"Whaaat?" Reno drawled. "Shinra was  _powerful._ It doesn't have to be the way it was. Rufus is different now, yo. He's all…" He made a gesture as if he were searching for the right word. "…I don't know,  _guilty,_ and shit." The redhead threw down a Nine of Hearts, and Rude threw down an Ace of Hearts silently, looking at Barret over the rim of his sunglasses. Barret grunted in response.

"I ain't never trusted Shinra and I never will, and that's that," the grizzly man grumbled. "Rebuilding the company would not onlybe a huge mistake on everyone's part, it would be a slap in the face to the Planet. And I've fought for this Planet long enough, that I'll kick  _anyone's_ ass who tries to screw her up again. So." He pushed the pile of cards in Rude's direction. "Don't bring that rebuilding Shinra crap up around me again. I'm trying to enjoy myself and you're pissin' me off."

"Whatever, old man."

Tifa almost stood up from the new game that she was playing with Marlene and Denzel to go make sure that Barret wouldn't blow his top, but Cloud appeared out of the kitchen with a bottle of wine just in time. She watched Barret visibly relax as Cloud poured him a refill.

"You know, Reno, I've been meaning to ask you something," Cloud interjected, setting the bottle down and leaning his hands against the table. "What's going on with Rufus and Reeve? Is there some sort of alliance between Shinra and the WRO?"

"Alliance?" the Turk scoffed. "How can there be an alliance if Shinra doesn't exist? It's all about the money flow, baby."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean exactly what I'm sayin', yo. I just said that Rufus has been consumed with guilt. He's funneling gil into the WRO in the hopes of restoring the Planet. It's an act of good will. The WRO receives money, they restore order, Rufus gets a clean conscience, and we're not out of a job." He jerked his thumb between himself and Rude, and Rude nodded in agreement. "We're Turks. We've always worked for whoever we want. Guess you could say we're true members of the WRO now. Just like all of you guys should be. Especially you, Cloud."

Cloud stood up straight, grabbing the wine bottle again. "I'm considering it."

"It'd be more profitable than that little small business you're running."

Cloud's eyes narrowed. "My business is important to people."

"Is it?"

Cloud chose to ignore the rude comment and slinked back into the kitchen. "It's not like you can't do both!" Reno called after him.

"Man," Yuffie suddenly drawled, yawning widely in the process. "Let's stop all this work talk and really get this party goin'! I'm setting up beer pong."

"I'll help," Tifa offered.

After a few minutes, two tables of the game were up and running. Marlene and Denzel didn't notice the quizzical looks that Tifa and Barret exchanged when they asked Yuffie to teach them to play, their previous game forgotten about. "Alright," she had agreed. "But you two obviously have to just drink water or something, so I'll take your drinks for you."

The ninja seemed to be enjoying getting plastered off of the kids' successful throws, and Tifa wondered if other parents would frown upon what they were doing.

_They just want to play a new game and feel included,_ she reminded herself.  _Nothing to worry about…_

She distracted her worrisome thoughts by watching Reno and Rude absolutely  _dominate_ their game against Barret and Cid.

"Like I said," Reno gloated, "we've been champs since high school."

"And you still look like a couple of dumbass high school kids, too," Barret retorted.

"Don't get jealous, old-timer. Bring on the next team. I wanna show Tifa here how it's done." He smiled smugly. "And I  _really_ want to kick Cloud's ass."

"Not gonna happen," he commented, sipping on another one of Tifa's brews.

"Come on Cloud, you can't just ignore a challenge. Look, Tifa wants to play with you."

The barmaid blushed lightly and looked at Cloud, shrugging her shoulders. "I wouldn't mind playing a round." She hadn't played the juvenile drinking game in years. A round or two with him would be interesting, to say the least.

"Ha!" he laughed, pointing at the blonde swordsman. "Now you have to play. Come on, don't be scared."

"Scared?" he echoed, his eyes narrow. He set his drink down on a table and approached them anyway. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"Oh, I would  _love_ it, Cloud."

For a second's time, a certain electricity crackled throughout the room as Cloud and Reno remembered that they didn't necessarily  _like_ each other half the time. "You don't have to, Cloud," Tifa said, smiling. "It's just a silly game; it won't hurt my feelings."

"I'm playing, Teef," he told her calmly. Her stomach fluttered again, and she silently chastised herself for feeling so excited over something so small, yet again.

"Great, can't wait to see you lose," Reno taunted.

"Shut up and throw the ball."

"Hm," the red-haired man huffed, smiling confidently. The ball landed in the nearest cup, and he popped his neck audibly. "Gonna be another short round, ain't it, Rude?" The quiet man smirked, nodding once, and took his shot. Another ball in the cup.

Even Tifa felt slightly annoyed by the Turks' high five and their smug expressions.

_Alright, they want a challenge?_ she mused, downing the cup they had made before Cloud could even reach out to grab it.  _I'll give them one, alright._

She remembered the glasses from the Gold Saucer and aimed just like she was trying to win another prize. However, she quickly learned that she did  _not_ play better as she became more intoxicated, unlike Reno and Rude, who seemed to get better with each drop of alcohol they consumed. Cloud didn't do so well either, and he insisted on drinking a few of the fallen cups that Tifa was almost angrily trying to consume. The game did last quite a while, and with Tifa and Cloud's combined efforts, they managed to take the Turks down to one final cup, before losing.

"I'll admit, you two gave me a run for my money," the redhead commented before shrugging. "But you can't beat the champions."

"Guess not," Cloud said, returning to his previously unfinished and undoubtedly room-temperature beer.

Tifa spent some time with Marlene and Denzel afterwards, as they had decided that "the pong game" wasn't the most fun, and had broken out some sort of elaborate board game. Shera and Cid were playing with them, and Barret was watching. Yuffie had roped Cait Sith into being her beer pong teammate, and was cursing profusely each time Reno and Rude made a cup or Cait Sith missed. They beat her team far before the kids had managed to finish their game.

Some time later, all of the adults, aside from Shera and seemingly, Cloud, were becoming quite intoxicated. The whole party was getting up and milling about, grabbing second servings of dinner or cake and refilling their drinks. Cid had stepped outside to smoke on several occasions, asking anyone but his pregnant wife to accompany him. "Don't wanna give my babies no secondhand smoke," he had said.

Tifa caught Cloud coming in from one of Cid's cigarette breaks just as she had finished having a chat with Shera and serving the kids some juice. "Cloud!" she whispered fervently. She giggled when he jerked his head in her direction, able to hear her quiet voice over the chatter and loud music. She motioned for him to follow her into the kitchen, safely tucked away from the rest of the party. Tifa wasn't sure what she was doing anymore, but she wanted Cloud to let as loose as she was trying to.

"Beer pong isn't your cup of tea?" she teased, stepping into the kitchen.

"There's something about drinking hot beer out of red plastic cups that doesn't sit well with me, no."

Tifa smiled brightly, procuring the expensive bottle of liquor she had hidden in the cabinet. "How about some of this, instead?"

Cloud quirked his eyebrow. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think the bartender is trying to get me drunk."

Tifa felt her heartbeat quicken, noting how attractive he looked when he made rare little expressions like that. "Maybe a little."

"And what makes you think I'm trying to get drunk tonight?" His tone was vaguely playful, and Tifa made to pour two shots of the alcohol.

"You had shots earlier."

"I did, and that was plenty."

"But you'll take another one with me, won't you?"

"Tifa," he sighed, smiling slightly and shaking his head. She held the shot glass out in front of her, silently insisting that he take it. Cloud's eyes darted from her, to the drink, and back to her again.

"Come on, it's my birthday," she pleaded.

Cloud sighed again and took the small glass from her hand. "That's really not fair, you know."

Tifa shrugged, her face alight with joy at her victory, and clinked her glass against his. "Cheers."

"To you," Cloud nodded, throwing his drink back at the same time as Tifa.

Tifa spent the rest of the night throwing back shots and joining in random conversation. She had taken to silently bringing Cloud a shot each time she made her own, and he had taken to silently accepting them. She perched on the end of the couch's arm, beside Cloud, once Marlene and Denzel had started singing on the karaoke machine that Yuffie had brought. It was decidedly adorable, although she couldn't say the same about the ninja's drunken singing that came afterwards.

"I could live the rest of my life without ever hearing her sing again," Cloud had commented quietly. Tifa giggled, feeling her stomach flutter again in knowing that nobody else could hear their conversation.

The night grew rowdier and rowdier, and as all parties do, everything eventually came to a drunken climax. Cloud had cut down the music to a barely-audible level as, one by one, everyone started to pass out. Yuffie was laying her head down at a table in one of the booths, and sweet Shera had been nice enough to fetch her a "just-in-case" bucket before the usually-hospitable Tifa even had a chance to. Cid was cuddled up with a sleeping Shera on the couch, an unlit cigarette handing limply from his lips; he had been holding it for ages. Reno and Rude were passed out in a booth of their own, their slack jaws mirroring each other on opposite sides of the table. Marlene, Denzel, and Barret had made quite a comfortable looking pallet in the living room area; they were all laying on it and munching on popcorn as they watched some old movie that Barret had insisted was great. Both of the kids looked like they were on the verge of crashing, and Barret wasn't too far behind them.

Cloud had been conversing with Cait Sith the last time Tifa had looked over towards the bar. He didn't seem to look too troubled; his surprisingly relaxed demeanor had persisted for most of the night, including while he talked to the little robotic cat. Tifa had turned her attention back to the old movie, but couldn't focus on it. It was boring, much too boring to keep her drunken, spinning mind sane. All she could think about was  _him._ But when she looked back again, he was gone.

"Aye, lass, I feel like I've hardly talked to ya tonight, despite it being your party," Cait Sith commented in his heavy Scottish accent as he toddled up to Tifa. "It was a fun time, nonetheless. I hope you've enjoyed yourself as well."

Tifa bent down to meet the cat at eye level and smiled. "This is the best night I've had in ages," she admitted. "Honestly… Might be one of the best nights of my life."

Cait Sith nodded enthusiastically. "You should do this again sometime. Perhaps Reeve could make it on the next occasion. If only he weren't so busy…" The robot scratched his head, a small frown marring his adorable features. "I guess I'm a decent replacement for his company, though!" He punched his fist in the air animatedly, his frown instantly replaced with a brilliant catlike smile. Tifa giggled, patting him on the head.

"You're not a replacement, dummy. You're a friend."

"Aw, that's mighty sweet of ya, lass," he replied, a cartoonish blush lighting up his furry cheeks. He stretched and yawned, catching his small crown before it tipped over off of his head. "Well, if ya don' mind, I think I'll be joining everyone else in taking a little cat nap. Gotta recharge me batteries."

Tifa giggled again. "Make yourself comfortable. Our home is yours."

_Our home._ A home that was shared by two sweet, smart, caring children who loved her like she was their own mother. A home that welcomed back an old friend, an old ally, an old man who was something of a father figure to her, and the children, as well. Marlene's daddy. Denzel's new friend. A home that took in friends, both old and new, past enemy or lover, and welcomed them with open arms.

_Past lover…_

_But current… What?_

It didn't take long for Cait Sith to curl up in Reno's lap, of all places, perhaps to spite or irritate the red-headed man in his own curious way. The Turk still slumbered heavily, completely unbothered by the instantly-snoozing cat. How Cait Sith had passed out so quickly, or if robotic animals could even really sleep, didn't seem like important questions. What did seem important was quietly slipping out of the living area and searching for a certain blonde-haired man.

• **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

"Cloud?" She found him sitting on the porch steps out front, and she gently shut the door behind her, the sounds of snoring and old television becoming muffled and distant. "Are you okay?"

"Mm-hmm," he hummed; his entire body looked heavy. His head drooped downwards and his arms rested weighty on his knees. There was a cool breeze blowing, gently playing at their hair as Tifa sat down a bit clumsily beside Cloud.

"Are you drunk?" she giggled, slipping her suspenders off of her shoulders; they had begun to dig into her skin and become uncomfortable.

Cloud cast her a sideways glance. "A bit," he answered honestly. "I'm not sure if all those drinking games are my thing." Tifa frowned, the guilt she had been suppressing the entire night rising back to the surface once again.

_This whole party wasn't his thing… And yet… He said he 'needed' it…_

"You're awfully sneaky with that liquor," he commented. "I haven't been this drunk in ages."

"Is that a bad thing?" she inquired, intending to sound playful but coming off as concerned.

Cloud shrugged. "I guess a little bit of fun can't hurt me, right?" He smiled, noticing Tifa's change of expression. Although he seemed genuine, Tifa held her doubts. "I just needed some fresh air," he assured her.

The barmaid nodded. "So… You really had fun? You're not just saying that to make me happy, are you?"

Cloud chuckled lightly, shaking his head. "Why would you ever think I would do something like that?"

"…You usually try to keep me happy." She blushed, though her face was already painted rouge from intoxication. Her head was beginning to swim.

"You don't think I know how to enjoy myself?"

"I never said that!" Tifa huffed, jerking her head in his direction and eyeing him pointedly. Her hand flew to her mouth, surprised by her own reaction, and Cloud chuckled quietly.

"Then again, I'm not too surprised," he seemed to murmur more to himself than to her. "I'm not the type of guy you would call 'fun'."

"I always have fun with you, Cloud," Tifa replied honestly. "Even on the hardest days… I'm always happy when you're around." She became vaguely aware of the light red tint that was painting Cloud's face, the slight, playful twinkle in his eye.

"Cloud… Your eyes…"

He blinked. "What about them?"

"They don't look so tired anymore…" she noted, cocking her head to the side. She felt transfixed.

_Blue… Bright, bright blue… Like the ocean… Like the sky…_

"What do they look like, then?" he asked quietly.

"Hmm…" She thought, her own eyes unwavering from his. "There's a happiness in them that I haven't seen in ages. There's… A light in there that I almost forgot you had." She smiled. "They look like… They want to tell me something."

_What am I saying?_

"…You sure that's not just what I look like when I'm drunk?"

"I've seen you drunk before."

She had, a few times. Once or twice, they had drunk and had fun together. Just the two of them, and Barret, mostly. Sharing drinks around an open campfire as they built their new home with their very own hands. Hands that worked hard and were calloused and thickened from years of fighting.

"…Things sure have changed a lot," she murmured. "Even over the past few days."

Cloud nodded. "They have."

"Do you think… This is a change for the better?"

Cloud chuckled again. "Tifa, these past few days have honestly been the happiest of my life. That's… Not an exaggeration."

"Really?" she breathed. "Even despite…" She trailed off, hazy thoughts meandering towards a dark place that involved Deepground and Trent. She unknowingly clenched her fist, and Cloud placed his hand on top of hers, effectively easing her tension.

"Despite everything," he confirmed. "I never want these days to end."

"Me too," she agreed, her throat growing taut with emotion. "You have no idea…" She trailed off, still unable to fully express her thoughts after all this time.

"Teef…" Cloud's eyes fell away from her, and he suddenly lost all traces of calm and confidence that he had displayed the entire night. "I… Ahh…"

"What is it?" Tifa asked.

Cloud reached into his deep pant pocket, pulling out a slim black box. "…I got you something. For your birthday. I'm… I'm scared to give it to you." He laughed quietly. "…Silly, right?"

Tifa's heart fluttered, and her swimming head began to hum. "You got me a present?" she gasped, hands clasped over her mouth.

Cloud nodded, and, silently, handed her the box. Tifa handled it carefully, with both hands, and with shaky fingers, opened it. Inside was a beautiful, heart-shaped locket.

"I saw it in a store in Junon, and… I thought you might like it."

" _Cloud…"_ Tears welled up in her eyes, intense emotions threatening to overwhelm her.

"Open it."

She did. Inside was a family photo, the only one that they all had together. The only one where Tifa could be seen leaning over and holding onto Denzel and Marlene's shoulders in a motherly fashion. The only one where Marlene was smiling brightly, and Denzel was smiling sweetly, shyly. The only one where Cloud was standing a little further away, as if he were afraid to be in the photo, but his characteristic, sweet smile was stile undoubtedly there, as well. And despite the shy smiles and the fact that their little family had grown even closer to each other since that moment, they all looked happy together.

"…I'm speechless," she admitted, hardly able to say even that. "…Would you mind?" She let the question hang delicately, and Cloud swallowed thickly, moving to sit on the step behind her. He gently pulled her thick hair aside, his fingertips ghosting over her skin as he clasped the metal link shut. Tifa's hand fluttered up to gingerly grasp at the pendent, her voice still failing her.

"I've messed up a lot…" Cloud murmured, breaking the short silence. "Especially when it comes to you… And I've made a lot of promises to you."

"You have promised me a lot… But you've never messed up," Tifa managed to murmur.

"This…" He paused, taking her hand in his and gently flipping the locket over. ' _I promise',_ it read. "This is a new kind of promise. It's not just a promise to be here when you need me. It's a promise to… just be  _here_. Always."

_A new kind of promise…_

Cloud has promised her many things in the time they'd spent together. When he first made a promise to her on the water tower, all those years ago, she knew that he would protect her. When he gave her the Fenrir ring, he promised that she would always be a part of his pack, and she knew that he wouldn't forget her. And with this locket, with this new promise, Tifa's eyes were beginning to open in a whole new way.

" _Cloud…"_  she whispered his name again, turning to look back at him.

"I.." His gaze was hazy, his lips parting to speak but pausing in hesitation. "It looks so pretty on you…" He paused again, his eyes darting between Tifa's. "You look so pretty."

Tifa's heart was hammering in her chest, and she was unable to utter a 'thank you' as a single tear finally broke free from the captivity of her eyes. She felt something stirring inside of her, something strong and something daring, and she took a chance, leaning back and kissing Cloud's cheek softly. Deliberately. She watched his eyes grow wide as she slowly pulled away.  _A mistake,_ she might have thought before, but his shocked expression quickly melted into something different. Something that told her that her touch was anything but a mistake. His eyes, still hazy from the drinks, traced over her features, and his hand followed slowly behind. His touch fell down her hair, then down her tinted cheek, his thumb pausing to softly rub over her lips. They parted in response, and Cloud dragged his fingertips along her jaw and over the chilled skin on her neck. Tifa found herself leaning towards his touch, wanting to give into it desperately. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to relish in the feeling; the swirly warmth of the liquor in her veins and the electric sizzle of Cloud's fingertips made a dangerous combination, far more dangerous than any of the monsters she had fought in her lifetime.

"Tifa," he murmured, his voice low and husky. She felt both of his hands wrap around the back of her and lock around her chest, his body close to hers. She didn't dare open her eyes, choosing instead to easily let go of the mental restraints holding her back and to wholly treasure the feeling of his touch. "I feel sort of silly right now…" he softly murmured near her ear. "Kind of the same way I always felt when I was around you as a child…" He leaned closer and, carefully, placed a hesitant kiss on her neck. A pleasurable chill shot up Tifa's spine. "…I've always felt shy and nervous whenever I'm around you… But more than that… I've been feeling a lot of things, lately..." Her stomach trembled nervously and she felt a surge of adrenaline spark through her as Cloud continued to speak softly against her pebbled skin. "No… I've felt a lot of things for a very long time, when it comes to you, Tifa… And, if I'm being honest…" He kissed her neck again, less careful this time. "…I don't know what to make of these feelings." Tifa felt her breath catch in her throat, her senses totally alight and her voice unable to give form to her words. She could feel every subtle movement of his: his lips ghosting along her skin, the tip of his cute nose and wisps of blonde hair touching her as well. "I'm sorry," he whispered, and placed more slow, soft kisses down her neck, stopping near the dip of her shoulder. "…Tell me to stop," he pleaded, a hint of desperation lacing his tone as his arms wrapped around her tighter. Tifa's breath felt constricted; she couldn't speak, her throat was dry and her tongue was swollen, but she could shake her head 'no'.  _For the love of Odin,_ her mind begged,  _please don't stop._ Cloud understood, the silent communication that they had both grown accustomed to firmly established, and he continued, parting his lips further to kiss down the delicate slope of her shoulder. "Tell me it's just the liquor talking…" he urged her. "Tell me you don't want this."

_But I do want this,_ her drunken mind begged. _I want this so bad, I feel like I'm going crazy._

Tifa felt her sense of control slipping away, and she allowed the lingering effects of the alcohol to take her over completely as she turned to lean her cheek against his own. "Why?" she whispered, almost terrified to hear his response.

"I'm no good for you," he drawled, placing slightly more urgent kisses against her shoulder before nipping dangerously at her soft skin. Tifa's breath audibly caught in her throat, and a slow-burning sensuality was threatening to overtake her.

"Is that what you really think?" she questioned, her voice quiet and throaty.

"…Yes," he breathed, his lips still lightly touching her skin.

Slowly, purposefully, Tifa reached up and hooked her finger under the straps of her tank top and bra. She slipped them down and off of her right shoulder, exposing a tantalizing sliver of her skin to Cloud's desperate lips. He breathed in sharply in response. "…If you're no good for me," she murmured, "then maybe… I don't want 'good'."

" _Tifa…"_

"You're afraid to touch me… Like you did back then…"

"Terrified," he whispered, trailing a lone finger down the bare slope of her shoulder.

"…Don't be."

Something inside him seemed to break, and Tifa gasped when he placed several slow, heated, open-mouthed kisses along the curves of her exposed skin.

"'Words… Words aren't the only thing that tell people what you're thinking,'" he murmured lowly, kissing back up her neck, torturously slow in his movements. "I've thought of those words so many times over the years... Dreamed of them…" He paused, kissing more delicately at her earlobe. "…But there's something I should have told you a long time ago. Something important."

A heartbeat's pause that seemed to last a lifetime stretched between them, and Tifa was enchanted, enamored of the man that was touching her in almost sinfully wonderful ways. Her world was melting away and there seemed to be nothing and no one left but just the two of them.

That's why Tifa jerked hard in response to the sound of the front door of the bar being slammed open by Yuffie. She stumbled out onto the porch, pitch-drunk, and began to retch over the wooden railing. Quickly, Cloud stood and pulled Tifa up with him, holding her steady as she gained her bearings on her wobbly feet. "Yuffie…" she exhaled, a mixture of anger and confusion pulling her away from the distant world she had fallen into under Cloud's touch. She was acutely aware of the feeling of his hands touching her shoulders, his right one gently pulling her shirt and bra straps back up into their proper position.

" _Damn_ it," he muttered, his voice icy and still decidedly drunk. Tifa was taken aback by his outward expression of irritation, but she shared the same looked back to him desperately, wanting,  _needing_ some sort of reassurance. Cloud grabbed her by the shoulders, a bit roughly, and fervently whispered, "We'll talk later." He then leaned forward and gently kissed her on her forehead, locking eyes with her before disappearing inside the bar. Tifa was left in a daze; if her head was swimming earlier, it absolutely spinning, now. She blocked out every drunken thought, feeling, and question as she tended to her friend as best she could.

• **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

Taking care of Yuffie was a sobering moment for everyone. Cloud had fetched Tifa a glass of water, a wet rag, and an elixir, while the brunette had held Yuffie's short hair away from her face as she puked and patted her back gently.

"Tifa… I swear I'll never drink again," Yuffie drawled before dry heaving over the railing again. Dimly in the back of her mind, Tifa noted that she would have to hose off Yuffie's drunken mess in the morning.

"It's okay," Tifa soothed, handing Yuffie the cool, wet rag. "You owe me, though," she whispered, making sure Cloud was back inside.  _"Big time."_

"Huh?" The younger woman moaned, dry heaving again.

"…Nothing," Tifa replied, shaking her head.

_His lips… His touch…_

_Touch that I've craved for ages… Answers that I've wanted for years, so close I can almost taste them..._

Tifa's whole world had been turned upside down, and everything felt enticing. Tantalizing. Electrifying. Fiery, heated,  _strong_ feelings had emerged that Tifa had all but thrown away. She was alive. She was alight with a fire that burned slow and heavy and  _needy._ She needed him. She needed to know. There was more to it than just the liquor. Just a promise. Just a night holding her tightly as she cried. Just a morning murmuring sweet nothings into her ear. Just a thousand small smiles and reassuring glances. Just a million blushes. Just a billion moments of casting his tired, Mako-tainted, gentle gaze in her direction.

Just one night, roughly two years ago, that had been wrapped up and neatly packed away in the back of their memories, never to be touched again. Never to be addressed. Never to be spoken of.

The door of the bar opened again, and he was there, face undeniably controlled and stoic. She knew that expression all too well. He was burying his emotions, whatever they were, deep, deep down inside his heart. "Is she done?" he asked, avoiding looking Tifa directly in the eyes and stepping around to look at the drunken girl. "Yuffie, let's get you inside. I've got a bed ready for you."

Yuffie hiccupped and looked at Cloud miserably. "Really?" she drawled.

"Yeah. Let's go."

Cloud let the younger woman drape her arm over his shoulder as he helped her inside. Tifa followed quietly, bringing the supplies Cloud had brought outside in with her.

"Cloooouuud, since when are you so nice?" Yuffie drawled, becoming less and less helpful in walking as they approached the stairs.

"I don't have time for this," Cloud huffed, letting his control slip for a moment as he hefted Yuffie over his shoulder in a fireman's carry.

"Heeeyyy! Put me down!" she whined, more loudly than she needed to.

"Shut up," Cloud growled at her. He deposited her on his own bed after making it up the stairs. The girl just moaned in agony and rolled over. Cloud sighed. "She has a bucket, some water, and a rag…" He turned and faced Tifa, finally looking into her eyes again. "Is there anything else I should get her?"

Tifa shook her head silently, feeling dazed and confused, and still a bit drunk. More drunk than she'd like to be. It all felt like it was too much.

Cloud reached out, and gently, ever so gently, caressed her cheek. "…Let's get out of here."

… _What?_

At first, it didn't click. "Where should we go?" she whispered, feeling slowly returning to her numb and drunken mind.

"Anywhere," Cloud responded quietly. "Let's take my bike and see where it takes us."

Tifa stood there stupidly for a moment, her face as blank as her mind.

… _See where it takes us?_

"Teef?" he murmured, concern etching into his handsome features.

_Teef… My nickname… My_   _name that only_ he _calls me…_

"…You're not supposed to drink and drive," she murmured.

A silent second stretched between them, and then Cloud laughed. It wasn't a quiet, typical chuckle – no. It was hearty, true laughter. It rang through Tifa's ears like music, and she came back from her numb state as all her senses lit back up like the lights of the fallen city of Midgar. She laughed too, happily, giggling away the tension.

"Of all the things to say…" Cloud mumbled, shaking his head and smiling.

Before she knew it, Tifa was leading Cloud down the stairwell as quietly as she could, grabbing her special bottle of liquor and a few other small supplies. He took notice, just as she hoped he would, and quickly packed a bag of some supplies as well, including several blankets and a small tent. Something dangerous and enticing stirred inside of Tifa. Perhaps it was because the liquor hadn't fully left her veins, and the lingering sense of Cloud's touch was making her feel things that she had promised herself she would never allow herself to feel. Perhaps it was the fact that her brain might be on the verge of melting and her heart might be on the verge of exploding, and she was beginning to care less and less about silly promises to herself when  _he_ offered her plenty of tantalizing promises in return. Perhaps it was the fact that she took pleasure in knowing that Cloud had become so used to reading her actions, rather than her words, and always seemed to know exactly what she needed. Or, at least, she felt that way as of late. And maybe, when he smiled at her and held onto her hand like he could never let go, he really  _was_ offering a new sort of promise to her. Something about the air that night felt wild and spontaneous, and all of Tifa's fears and doubts slowly dissipated into nothingness as she and Cloud snuck out of the quiet, sleepy bar that they called home.

• **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

Tifa opened her eyes to the sound of Cloud quietly calling her name. She sat up, having fell asleep against his leather-clad back, and looked around.

"Where are we?"

It was still very dark outside, and they appeared to be at some sort of lake. This wasn't the same lake they had bathed in, though, and it wasn't a place she recognized. It was pretty, and felt tucked away within the wooded scenery. A few fireflies lit up occasionally, and the sound of chirping crickets filled the otherwise quiet atmosphere.

"Nowhere in particular," Cloud answered, hoisting a bag over his shoulder and slipping off the back of his bike after Tifa did the same. "Well… That's not exactly true." He offered his free hand to Tifa, and she took it easily. "Walk with me?"

Tifa nodded, slightly surprised at Cloud's uncertain question. She'd walk with him to the ends of the Planet. She had proven that to him, hadn't she?

They stayed hand-in-hand and silent for some time, the sounds of nature filling up Tifa's senses. She was sobering up now, and the implications from earlier in the night were beginning to consume her mind. What if she was wrong? What if it she had taken things the wrong way? He was drunk, she was drunk; or rather, the both of them weren't particularly drunk anymore, but what he had done… What he had  _said…_ What did it mean?

_This place… Why did he bring me here?_

"Cloud…?" She stopped walking and let her hand fall from his, opting to clasp her own together shyly. Her questioning tone was laced with consistent doubt and insecurities, but beneath it all, she was left curious and wanting. Cloud smiled at her in the sweetest way.

"This is a special place, you know," he commented. "Monsters rarely roam here. Nothing's around for miles. It was one of the places I would come to sometimes, whenever I felt like I needed to get away from the world. A place that isn't filled with painful memories…" He took a moment to close his eyes and breathed in deeply. "I feel very peaceful here. I feel like… I can be honest with myself, here." He opened his eyes and his gaze fell onto Tifa's. "Like I can be honest with you."

_Honest…_

Tifa closed her eyes as well, soaking in the sounds of nature and breathing in the smell of fresh flora. "Do you feel like you need to get away from the world now?" she quietly asked, her eyes slowing opening.

"Yeah… I do. But, the truth is…" Cloud reached out and took Tifa's hand again. "I've only ever come here to be alone. But this time… I wanted to be alone with you."

Tifa let him pull her deeper into the woods, and he silently led her to a distant shore that kissed the breast of a short river. They paused; he looked at her, and she looked at him, unsure and heart beating wildly. "…Tifa," he murmured. "…After all this time… There's so many things that I never got to say to you…" He let his bag slide off of his shoulder and hit the ground before gently squeezing Tifa's shoulders. "I keep thinking, 'this isn't the right time, or the right place', or that I shouldn't say anything at all… But…" He shook his head. "I'm tired of living this way. I've trapped myself in this…  _lie_ , where I pretend that I don't feel the way that I do…" Tifa's eyes darted between Cloud's own; she was instantly transfixed again, finding herself lost in the ocean of his gaze. "You know me better than anyone," he continued. "Better than I know myself, sometimes…"

Tifa's heart fluttered madly, and the flood of heated feelings from before assaulted her and pooled in the pit of her stomach. "I don't know everything about you," she whispered, reflecting on her own thoughts that she had voiced to cloud only a short time ago.

" _I know a lot more about you than I used to,"_ he had said.

" _Really? Like what?"_

" _Like the fact that you read romance-mystery novels every night after you finish cleaning up the bar. Or that you like hot pepper sauce in your scrambled eggs… Which is really gross, by the way."_

"… _I guess you're right, Cloud. But… You don't know everything,"_ she had replied.

" _I don't?"_

Cloud nodded. "You do, though." His hand reached up to gently caress Tifa's cheek. "You know my story from beginning to end."

" _Would it be weird if I said that I miss you?"_

"And, Tifa… It all begins and ends with you."

• **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

The beginning of their story started with an innocent, childhood promise atop an old, rusty water tower. That night, the stars shined magnificently in the sky. Tifa swore that she had seen a shooting star that night, and even if it were only her imagination, she had made a wish. She had wished for the boy that had caught her interest to come back to see her someday. She didn't understand why at the time, but something about him made her feel safe and secure, even when she only barely knew him.

The middle of their story began with that same boy, much older now, and different, but the same. He had intrigued her, and worried her, with the way that he spoke and acted. He wasn't the same shy, sweet boy that she had remembered from her past. He, instead, brought up memories of that same boy getting into fights with the other neighborhood kids. Everyone always thought he was bad, or strange, or dangerous… But Tifa always knew how good he was under that tough exterior. Yeah… She always knew that he was good.

And so the end of their story had remained unfinished, and they were left in a tangled web of confusing feelings and unaddressed thoughts. The current setting sought to inform Tifa that Cloud had intentions to stay with her, there, for a while. He had pitched the small tent and laid a palette out under the stars, and had even taken to gathering supplies for a small campfire. He had done most of this without speaking, giving Tifa ample time to reflect on her feelings. Somehow, she knew that Cloud was just killing time in order to do the same thing. After what felt like hours, he had turned away from her, and Tifa was left looking at the back of the man who was confessing his deepest feelings to her.

"Time and time again… I sink," the blonde man said to Tifa, and not to the river that he was intently looking at. "I sink deeper and deeper every time. But, somehow, you always manage to pull me back up to the surface without drowning yourself. And every time, I feel this gratitude that's so strong and profound that I just can't express it. But, I always get scared, too. Scared that I'll pull you down with me. Scared that, one day, you won't be able to save me… And I'll end up hurting you more than I already have." He shook his head, turning back to face her. "Teef… I'm a broken man. A broken shell of a man. And when I fall apart, I feel so guilty letting you pick up all of the pieces. But… At the same time…"

"I'd do it every day," Tifa said, quickly standing from her blanket and stepping closer to him. "I could never let you fall apart. Not after everything we've been through together."

"I know… And that's why it's so hard…" He hung his head shamefully. "To feel like I couldn't possibly deserve someone as wonderful as you are."

He stepped closer, too, and their hands connected easily. "After I became 'the hero', I should have gotten everything I've ever wanted," he continued. "The glory. The satisfaction. The girl…" He shook his head slowly. "…But I pushed it all away. I pushed everyone away. And you, Tifa… You got the worst of it. You've gotten to see…  _Every_ worst side of me. And yet…" He squeezed her hands gently. "And yet, you've stood by my side, for better or worse. You've fought for me, tooth and nail, mentally and physically. You've…" He searched for the right words. "You've put the pieces back together for me, time and time again. You've searched for me when I couldn't find the strength to do it myself. And I just can't wrap my mind around how incredibly lucky I am to have someone care about me that much. More than that… The person who kept me together, kept me whole, was the one person I've cared about all my life. The one who I never stopped thinking of."

"Cloud…"

"Wait," he asked, halting her from pulling him closer. "I have more that I need to say…" Tifa squeezed his hands tighter, patiently drinking in his every word. "A lot of times, I feel like I'm stumbling. I feel like some freak of nature, something that is whole and broken at the same time, and I feel so…  _Different_ from everyone else." His words were coming out more quickly now, more frantically, as if they'd disappear if he stopped speaking. "And I try, and I try, and I try again, but I can never seem to get things right. And then when I finally feel like I'm getting somewhere, like I might have finally found the light at the end of the tunnel, something bad happens, because something bad  _always_ happens, and then I give up. Again. Over and over again, I just give up and give up and keep giving up. But you… You never let me give up for too long. And you always come to me when I'm at my lowest and my weakest, and you pick me up, and you dust me off, and you smile the  _prettiest_ smile at me and you tell me 'dilly dally shilly shally'." Tifa laughed quietly, tears pooling in her eyes as all of her strong emotions welled to the surface again. "Have you ever felt like a loser, Tifa?" Cloud asked her, quietly.

"…Sometimes," she responded.

"…I always feel like I'm about ten steps behind everyone else. Like no matter how hard I try, I can't keep up. And the whole time, everyone around me is relying on me _._ They look up to me; they ask me to lead them… So I try my best, and sometimes I succeed, but other times, I fail. When it all goes to hell, Tifa,  _you're_  the reason I keep trying. Even if I feel like a complete failure. Even if I think all hope is lost. And that  _terrifies_ me, Teef. I'm so scared to be hopeful, to be happy, to be relied on, to be  _loved_  by others. To be  _needed…_ To even be wanted… When all my life, I've been nothing but an outcast. The loser. The failure. And now, everyone wants me to play the hero. And most of the time, I just feel like I'm faking it. Until I look at you… And then for  _once_  in my damn life… I really feel like I am one."

Tifa was silently crying now, but she knew that Cloud knew that she wasn't sad. No, she was anything but sad. She was happy. She was so incredibly, unbelievably happy. One of Cloud's hands floated up to caress her cheek, and she leaned into it, thankful for his touch. Thankful for everything.

"For a long time, I thought that, maybe, you felt sorry for me," he continued. "That you pitied me. But looking back at it now… I see that you really cared all along. And I had other people in my life that cared about me, too. I just… Couldn't really see it, until now. And, even just thinking about it…" His voice began to shake, losing the calm, neutral tone that he had carried throughout his confession. "Thinking about all the people who care about me… All of my friends… My family… And  _you…_ Just thinking that I can finally be happy… Finally have a chance to be  _normal_ … Tifa, it's so damn terrifying. And, I don't know why, but…  _It hurts…_ "

"It hurts?" she echoed softly.

Cloud nodded, his eyes full of tears now too, bright and blue and full of truth in the light of the campfire. They searched Tifa's own for answers that he had sought for a very long time. "Tifa… I am so, so  _deeply_  in love with you… It hurts."

And then, without any restraints or inhibitions, Tifa kissed Cloud with an intensity that she didn't even know she was capable of. Her hands, having moved to cradle his face, dragged through his hair as he kissed her back in a way that told her to never stop.

When she finally pulled away and looked into his eyes, she could make out every detail in those intensely blue irises. Could feel the warmth of his skin against her own. Could taste the scent of liquor on his lips. She felt alive.

"I've waited so long…" she admitted.

"I know," he confessed, kissing her freely in between his words. "I know that now. I should have told you… Years ago."

"It's not your fault… None of that matters anymore." She pulled back again, desperate as she was to kiss him until time itself ended. "Cloud…  _I love you, too._ "

Cloud kissed her again and again, pulling her body tight against his and running his fingers through her long, tied-up mess of hair, and Tifa melted into his touch. Touch that was gentle by nature, yet desperately demanding all the same.

" _I love you…_ It feels so good to say it," he whispered, kissing down Tifa's neck and rubbing his hands over her back.

" _I love you, Cloud… I love you, too. So… So much…"_

Tifa was elated. She was running on a high that was almost manic in nature, and this time, her world really did melt around her. No, the rest of the world didn't matter right now. This place was just Tifa and Cloud's, and stagnant memories of their time together began to rise to the surface.

A young, shy Cloud trailing her up a huge mountain. A teenage, determined Cloud fighting through his fear of speaking to her atop an old, rusty water tower. An older, different Cloud feigning indifference to Tifa's needs. A pained, sick Cloud slowly losing his mind as Tifa tended to him. A brief, joyful Cloud that laughed quietly and filled up the room with his smile. A depressed, broken Cloud who believed that no one would ever want to help him heal.

And now, finally, here in her arms, was the Cloud that she had been searching for all along. A Cloud that she had only had brief time with, time that was always too short. Tifa knew that he was a complex man; there were many facets and sides to him that were probably yet to be explored. But Tifa wanted to explore them – wanted to know every nook and cranny of Cloud's mind, beyond all of the things that she learned in the Lifestream. She wanted to know all of him, to be with all of him, to feel all of him and to  _love_ all of him, wholly and completely.

And he wanted to love her the same. Words were dissipating into the chill of the night air, and were replaced with touches that grew heavier in their nature. That night under the Highwind came flooding back into Tifa's mind as Cloud began to lose his hesitance and grew hungry in his desire to learn every inch of her. What was different about this time, was that the world wasn't ending, and there was ample time to be had. The knowledge that this was only the beginning of something new for them seemed to register in both of their hazy minds, and they touched each other with equal fervor and a slow-burning pace.

Cloud gently pulled her inside the tent, kissing her as much as he could, and helped her lie down on the pallet he had created. He took great care to prop Tifa's head up on a few rolled-up blankets, and he paused, looking down at her.

"Are you comfortable?" he asked, his voice very gentle.

"I'm more than comfortable," she responded, pulling him back down to kiss him again. Comfort and everything else be damned. This is what she had been wanting. Had been needing for years.

Cloud caressed her cheek and kissed her more slowly. He pulled away from her again, his body hovering inches away from hers. "I should have taken you somewhere nicer than this place."

"This place is perfect."

"You deserve nothing but the best." Cloud almost looked sad for a moment. "You deserve better than what I've given you."

"And yet I still love you all the same." Tifa reached up and cradled his face, her voice pleading. "Cloud, you've given me everything I need. You've given me love, and friendship, and support, and protection… Don't you understand?" She traced her thumb over his cheek sweetly. "You've given me nothing but fond memories. Through all the bad times, you've given me a shoulder to cry on. Through all the good, you've given me someone to smile with. That's enough for me, Cloud…" She kissed him again, slow and deliberate. "All I want is you. All I've ever wanted is you. The details aren't important. All that is… Is that you're here with me. Right now."

It was enough for her, and finally, it was enough for him, as well. Each kiss marked a timeless memory, and every touch etched its place in Tifa's soul. Between whispered words of love, Tifa and Cloud bathed in the feeling of each other. Tifa was intoxicated by the heady taste of his lips, the night's liquor still lingering on his breath. He smelled of fresh soap and earthy leather, the masculine nature of which made Tifa weak and ready under his touch. The look in his eyes, pure-blue and full of love and desire, was something both new and familiar to Tifa. It excited her. Though she had seen that look before, it has always been distracted. But this time, regardless of what battles may be fought in the future, Cloud and Tifa were completely and absolutely absorbed in the presence of each other.

They loved each other in a way that was totally new. Heavy, impassioned touches paired with gentle caresses and curious exploration. They dared to take risks together, learning each other's battle scars and placing healing kisses to those wounds. Cloud took on a whole new demeanor that Tifa had never seen before, and he slowly drove her mad with his possessive and determined touch. And when Tifa was nude and panting and had fully unraveled, her eyes filled with lust, Cloud broke.

Tifa let him pull her arms over her head, entwining his fingers with hers on the tattered blankets. For a long time, they remained flush against each other, choosing not to speak because they deemed it unnecessary. They had a way of showing each other how they felt with their actions.

_But tonight,_ Tifa reminded herself,  _words_ are  _important._

Tifa gently let her hands escape Cloud's, choosing to instead caress his hair as he laid comfortably on her breast. "I feel like I'm in shock," she admitted. "All these years… What have we been doing for all these years?"

"…I've been living in fear," Cloud stated truthfully. "But you make me feel like the bravest man on the face of The Planet." He lifted his head to look at her, smiling. "And the luckiest."

Tifa smiled, too. "You  _are_  the bravest man I know, Cloud." He chuckled lightly, his smile bright and toothy and genuinely  _real._ Tifa thought he looked like an angel.

"I owe it all to you," he breathed, scooting over to cradle Tifa beside him and looking into her eyes. "My reason for fighting. My inspiration." He brushed a wisp of hair away from Tifa's face. "I have a lot of reasons for fighting. A lot of people that I love who I'm fighting for. But you always inspire me to keep going. When I'm with you… I know anything is possible." He chuckled again. "Cheesy… Right?"

"I love cheesy."

They both laughed lightly together. "I guess I do, too," Cloud admitted. He kissed her again, gently and lovingly, reluctant to pull away. "…I feel like my chest is going to explode," he whispered. "…Is that weird?"

Tifa smiled, gently shaking her head 'no' against the ground. "I feel the same way." She let the tips of her calloused fingers play along his jawline. "…You were afraid to look at me last time."

"I was," Cloud admitted.

"Why?"

He winced slightly, before softly smiling again. "I felt ashamed… I felt like I didn't deserve what you had given me. Like I had taken advantage of you, somehow."

"I felt the same…" Tifa laughed lightly. "We're both idiots."

Cloud chuckled, too. "Things were different, then…" He kissed her softly, and Tifa relished in the fact that his pupils were blown and dilated rather than the angry slits they usually were. "Things are different, now… Now, I couldn't stop looking at you even if I were blinded."

"You couldn't see me if you were blinded," she teased.

"I'd find a way to," he replied, kissing from her forehead down to her chin. "You are, without a doubt,  _the_ most beautiful woman on the face of the Planet." He gently kissed her again. "…Inside and out."

Tifa smiled brightly, letting her hands roam and play wherever they pleased on Cloud's body. "I could say the same about you."

"That I'm the most beautiful woman on the face of the Planet?" he questioned, quirking an eyebrow.

"Don't make me remind you-"

"You don't need to," Cloud interjected, holding a finger up to Tifa's lips and obviously rejecting the hazy memory of cross-dressing in Wall Market. They both shared another laugh together before Cloud sweetly kissed Tifa again. "You make me so incredibly happy, Tifa." His hand reached up into her tangled hair, pushing it behind her ear and gently flicking her earring. "You have no idea."

"I do, though," she breathed. "…You make me the happiest woman in the world, Cloud. I mean that."

Cloud trailed his hand down Tifa's side, finding her hand and intertwining his fingers into hers. "Teef… Remember what you said about my life being made up of a bunch of different puzzle pieces?"

Tifa nodded, smiling gently. "You said I was more than just a part of your puzzle… You said I'm 'basically the whole damn thing'."

Cloud chuckled. "Well… I've been thinking… Maybe my life isn't a puzzle. Maybe it's more of a book."

"A book?"

"Mm-hmm." He kissed her tenderly. "A book filled with lots of different chapters… Good ones, and bad. But, no matter what page you turn to… You're always there. My beginning, and my end."

Tifa continued to smile, feeling happy tears well up in her eyes once again, and she kissed him like the gentle glow of sunrise that kissed the edge of the Planet. "I like being your story."

Cloud and Tifa whispered sweet nothings to each other late into the night, giggling and smiling like teenagers who had fallen in love for the very first time. Tifa felt so youthful, so rejuvenated, so deliciously  _alive_ that she thought she could take on the world. After a bath in the river, more lovemaking, and an eternity of whispered feelings, Tifa found herself curled against Cloud, just as she had been for the past few nights. She knew that she would never sleep without his gentle form beside her again, and she cherished the way he snuggled his face into her hair and stroked his fingers down her spine.

"Cloud…" she whispered.

"Teef," he replied gently.

"I love you."

"I love you too, Tifa. So very, very much." He leaned his head down and kissed her again, before snuggling up as close to her as he possibly could. "Let's rest, now."

Tifa nodded, whispering her goodnights and feeling her heart swell as he whispered his. And as they fell asleep together, all was right in the world. No matter what sorrows the world may have brought, no matter what trials they would have to face, Tifa knew that they had strength in each other. So long as they were together, nothing could hurt them. Perhaps, they were invincible.

That's why Tifa was so terrified to awaken to Cloud tightly clutching her nude body as he screamed in agony.

• **·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•**

**ENDING AUTHOR'S NOTE: Wow, guys. That was a lot, right? I understand that it may be -too much- for some people (some people prefer to read shorter, more frequent chapters), but this is the format I've chosen for a variety of reasons. I really didn't want to upload this until I felt like it was 100% ready to go. Some places in this chapter are obviously not perfect, but I poured my heart and soul into this chapter, and I really hope that shines through! I hope with all my heart that you guys enjoyed reading this chapter, and I hope that it made you feel lots of things, good, and bad. I know my writing isn't perfect, but I really gave it my all on this one. With that being said, I hope you guys will look forward to the ENDING! We have one final chapter, and an epilogue to go. I do not think the final chapter will be as long - it will instead focus on wrapping things up, finishing off conflicts, and tying off lose ends relating to the characters' feelings and dynamics with each other. Please understand that it may take me a while again... I know how frustrating it is to wait on me for -literally- a year to write this. But, that's how long it takes me to write something this long, and of this quality, bearing in mind that I have real-life stuff to deal with as well. I will do everything in my power to finish this story as soon as I can! And I do sincerely apologize for the agonizing wait... I hope that the length and content of this chapter will help make up for that. As always, please feel welcome to leave a review, because they absolutely make my day and remind me that it's worth writing all of this. I love knowing that other people are enjoying something that I've worked so hard on. I do this all for you guys! I won't let you guys down. It may take a long time still, but rest assured that this story WILL be completed! I AM DEDICATED TO FINISHING THIS PROJECT! So, please enjoy, and have a wonderful day or night :-) I will be seeing you, hopefully sooner rather than later - Sincerely, SummonerStrife**


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